Jihad Trilogy: Crimson Mountains
by Matt Guthrie
Summary: Sequel to Blood of Innocents. There's a Blood of Innocents summary inside in case you haven't read the prequel. The fight for religious freedom on Kamme, the planet of my creation, moves to the mountains. Also, an OC and an obscure canonicial character fall for each other. T for intense, sometimes bloody violence and mild language. This one's more diverse than the prequel.
1. Blood of Innocents Summary

**Hi girls/guys. I thought I'd just give a summary of Blood of Innocents for those of you who didn't bother to read it before starting Crimson Mountains. If you've already read Blood of Innocents, just skip this. I promise I'll upload chapter 1 very soon. As we speak, I'm almost done with the rough draft. **

The story begins with a flashback three months into the past. There, on the obscure planet Kreidaan, the mass murderer Ceiden Orann has a discussion with Jedi padawan Seth Kothrys. He offers to free hostages the Jedi were assigned to protect on the condition that Seth gave the location of his comrades to Orann. When Seth refuses, Orann activates a time bomb. Seth tries unsuccessfully to stage a rescue, and all the hostages, including Seth's father, are killed in the blast.

Three months later, Seth is being sent on his first mission since the debacle. Along with three other Jedi – Padawan teams, he and his master, Lija Niitterro, are assigned to stop a religious Jihad on the backwater planet Kamme. It is revealed during the briefing that Orann has risen as the leader of the Cleansing, the faction that is undertaking the jihad. After the briefing, Master Yoda reveals that the mission was a test for Seth, as Yoda wanted Seth to learn how to control his anger and hate and refrain from killing. If he did not do this, he would be expelled from the order.

Things go wrong for the Jedi almost immediately. Their transport is boarded and attacked by hulking droids (Later revealed to be called behemoth droids) that are manufactured by the Cleansing. After the Jedi repel this attack, a mysterious person in red armor, who is later revealed to be a suicidal member of the Cleansing, activates a bomb in the transport and kills himself. The Jedi are separated as Seth goes down to the planet in an escape pod with his only friend, Darra Thel – Tanis, her master, Soara Antana, and Zabrak padawan Kaen Vatos. Lija stays behind with Obi – Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Kaen's master, Kalo Bulq, to diffuse the bomb.

On the way down to the planet, the escape pod is shot down in the wilderness, sending Seth flying out the windshield. He almost dies of blood loss after many glass shards from the windshield tear into his back. Around this time, Darra feels a disturbance in the force that implies that Kaen has died. The four Jedi who went down to Kamme in the escape pod decide to go find shelter in the mountains of the planet, as they have no sense of direction concerning their proximity to the cities.

On the way there, they come across the grave of a baby boy who was murdered by Cleansing troopers. Darra has a vision of an infanticide, presumably the events detailed on the epitaph on the tombstone. When she reveals what she saw in the vision, Seth makes a silent vow to kill anyone he saw committing an infanticide.

The Jedi are met at the grave site by General Jonnen Pitki, who offers to give them a ride to Meekku, the capital of the planet, in his snowskimmer, a vehicle commonly used on Kamme in lieu of airspeeders. However, they arrive at a war zone just outside the city walls. The Cleansing is repelled from the city, and after the battle, the Jedi met Corporal Lache Thel – Tanis, who Seth and Darra presume to be the latter's older brother.

Meanwhile, it is revealed that the attack on the transport was a plan by Cleansing General Turkkis Valunnen to kill the Jedi that came to the planet. After a brief scolding from Orann for killing the lone surviving member of the assassination team, Orann tells his aide Jorru to, "Observe all of the general's dealings". Distrust from Orann to General Valunnen is revealed, as well as resentment the other way around.

Later that day, a terrorist blows up a building in the planet and tries to escape. Lache and Seth get into a street fight with the thug and end up knocking him unconscious. When they go digging through the rubble of the building to find survivors, Seth finds the dead body of a little boy, which gives him a retrospective nightmare that night.

In the nightmare, more about Seth's childhood is revealed. It shows him wrestling on a cliff on Tatooine with his twin brother, Calyx, back when the boys were seven. It is revealed that Jedi Master Mace Windu had left them there, away from a battle with Tusken raiders, so that the twins would not be killed.

During their wrestling match, the twins notice a Kell Dragon in the distance. Calyx talks his brother into accompanying him to the edge of the cliff for a closer look, which Master Windu had told them not to do. Seth hesitantly agrees, but his brother leans down too far and falls off the cliff. Seth tries unsuccessfully to pull his twin back up, and the other little boy falls to his death.

The next day, the foursome decided to go out to collect information on the Cleansing's plans, disguised as Kammean civilians. However, they notice a military procession out of the city and learn that the city of Portu is under heavy attack. During the lengthy drive there, Lache gives the Jedi more information on the geography of Kamme. He says that the Cleansing has ransacked and re – inhabited every city except for five, including Meekku. Beyond a mountain range are the cities Portu, which is the second largest population center on the planet, and the big financial city, Kokka. In the mountains, there are twin cities; the industrial center of Marahti, and Tamniemi, where the military academy is located.

They arrive as reinforcements in a pitched battle. Around this time, Lija, Obi – Wan, and Anakin reappear, having apparently made their way back to civilization. The Black Corps, a fearsome extension of the Cleansing made up primarily of mercenaries from other planets, is also introduced during this battle scene. Master Kit Fisto, sent to Kamme to replace the deceased Kalo Bulq, is introduced to the story in addition. Eventually, the terrorists retreat when they get caught in crossfire.

After the battle, Black Corps Commander Arkelon E'Sealin, who is revealed to be Orann's cousin, reports to Orann about the failed attack. He mentions that he recognized Seth among the Jedi. Upon hearing this, Orann sets out to recruit a bounty hunter. Shortly after he leaves, General Valunnen meets up with Church of Aluu high priest Teenen Kaimu, who conspires to kill Orann for sacrilegious actions and religious insincerity.

Back at Portu, Kaen voices his suspicions about the nature of the Cleansing's retreat earlier that day. (The Cleansing outnumbered the defending soldiers at the time of their retreat.) Seth adopts these suspicions and goes off to warn Pitki, meeting his daughter, Leari, along the way. Later that night, Seth and Lache overhear a discussion between Darra and Soara which quashes any doubt in their minds that Lache is Darra's older brother.

Meanwhile, Orann meets up with the infamous bounty hunter Aleho Laixi and hires him to bring the Jedi to him alive. Laixi charges 20,000 credits, or in Laixi's words, "Ten thousand upfront, ten thousand when I'm though." During their meeting Laixi reveals that he knew Seth's father, Julius.

The next day, Portu is rocked by two attacks: One from a gigantic, mutated spider (Which was unleashed by the Cleansing to wreak havoc), and the second from a large contingent of Behemoth droids. The latter attack requires Pitki to summon large numbers of reinforcements from Kokka.

Later that day, Obi – Wan, Anakin, Master Fisto, and Kaen all return from an unsuccessful scouting mission. The Jedi discuss their next course of action when Seth has a vision of Orann walking through the Cleansing's encampment with Laixi. The vision gives him some knowledge of the camp's layout, and he is volunteered to aid Pitki's spies the next day.

Meanwhile, General Valunnen, who is revealed to be a lesai addict, and High Priest Kaimu again conspire against Orann. Kaimu proposes that they poison Orann, and that they will do the deed in a few days.

The next day, Seth, Lache, and Captain Teemanne Selmu are dispatched on a scouting mission to the Cleansing's camp, under the guise of three Black Corpsmen. Their mission is delayed when Leari starts flirting with Seth during the process of applying corpsepaint to his face. In spite of that inconvenience, the spies manage to find a datapad with a journal entry detailing the Cleansing's plan to attack Kokka now that they had lured enough soldiers away from that city.

Meanwhile, Laixi gets in a duel with Soara and Darra that results in the former getting knocked unconscious. Laixi tries to take her to Orann, but has drawn too much attention to himself. Therefore, he leaves and resolves to find weapons more appropriate for his task.

The spies return to Portu shortly afterward to warn Pitki and rally the other troops to Kokka's defense. However, the Cleansing and Black Corps beat them there. The ensuing slaughter of innocents and utter destruction of the city horrifies Darra and spurs Seth to a blood rage that is only stopped when he is knocked unconscious by a grammatically challenged Private under Lache's jurisdiction.

Seth wakes up at a medical facility in Portu, where he finds out about Kokka's utter obliteration. He leaves the facility and finds Darra crying over the disaster at Kokka. The ensuing scene where Seth tries to comfort her contains hints, but no official confirmation, of a mutual attraction between the two of them.

It is during that scene that Lija reports to the council about Seth's actions, which most notably include burning terrorists alive with fire. After much deliberation, the council decides in a split vote to proceed with Seth's training, as Yoda believes the young man won't get the guidance and control he needs without further training.

Back at the ruins of Kokka, Orann reveals to Arkelon that he never cared about the Cleansing's jihad. He had only come to Kamme to find his grandfather's massive treasure that was still hidden on the planet. It is in this scene that the source of the hatred from the Orann and E'Sealin clans toward the Kothrys family is revealed.

The next day, the citizens of Portu learn about the disaster at Kokka and begin to evacuate. However, the Cleansing launches a massive attack on the city. During the pitched battle, Teemanne gets beheaded by Arkelon, who ultimately loses a hand in a vibroblade duel with Lache, who also came out of the duel with a wound of his own.

Seth saves Darra's live twice in the battle, once when he killed a Black Corpsman who was trying to sneak up on her with a vibroblade, and again when he stopped her fall off the roof of a tall building. For himself, Seth sustains two vibroblade wounds: One to his side and another to his chest. He almost captures Orann, but the latter escapes and activated a time bomb that is set to destroy the entire city in ten minutes.

Lache finds the bomb first, but doesn't know how to diffuse it. He decides to transport the bomb out of the city, but Seth ends up doing it. Seth flies out of the city in a snowskimmer and throws the bomb with the force as far from the city as possible. He ends up getting thrown back and knocked unconscious by the shockwave. When he wakes up, Lija reveals to him that he had saved the city with his actions.

The story ends with one final scene back at the Cleansing encampment. Orann has a brief exchange with General Valunnen and Arkelon and tells them to prepare for an attack on Marahti and Tamniemi in the mountains.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hi girls/guys. It's Matt again with the first official chapter in Crimson Mountains. I need to make a few announcements concerning this sequel. **

**First off, I feel that Blood of Innocents was too reliant in places on battle scenes. That shouldn't be the case in Crimson Mountains. I mean, yeah, this is a Star Wars story, so naturally there will be violence. But I'm going to try exercising a little more moderation, and shift some of the emphasis to plot development. **

**Another thing: There will be minimal (Let me say it again: MINIMAL) romance involved in the trilogy from here on out. Fret not, male readers: It's only a plot thickener, and I'm going to keep the focus on more important story elements, anyway. So you don't need to accuse me of selling out or anything. And again, I said that it would be MINIMAL. **

**Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy. **

Chapter 1

Two years ago…

Tipoca City, Kamino…

The skies of Kamino were their usual dark gray. The ever present, torrential rain pounded mercilessly as always. The endless ocean below Tipoca City raged violently, making it nearly impossible for anyone unfortunate enough to fall in to survive. The only thing out of the ordinary happening at the city was a blazing fight on a launching pad just outside a government center.

Two Jedi and a bounty hunter simply known as Apollyon had been doing battle for nearly an hour. All three were weakened to varying degrees by fatigue. Nobody, however, wanted to surrender. Both parties needed to win this fight in order to accomplish their conflicting goals.

The first Jedi was a short, stocky Lannik. He was shaved bald except for a lock of hair that was tied back into a topknot. His large, pointed ears were bleeding from several small cuts he had sustained from falling shards of glass. He was Jedi Master Zoltan Keal.

His Padawan, fourteen – year – old Seth Kothrys, was with him. Seth was tall and pale, with piercing, icy blue eyes. His black hair fell to his chin and was plastered to his face by the rain. The sleeveless robes he wore gave way to the well – toned muscles on his arms.

Apollyon was much more mysterious than his adversaries. He was encased in a dark gray suit of cortosis armor based loosely off the Mandalorian design. Nobody knew his real name, his age, or even his species. Nor did they know what he sounded like, for he never spoke. The only hint of what he really looked like came from the long, blond hair plastered to his back.

They were locked in combat with each other after a diplomatic mission to the planet had gone awry. The Jedi had been sent there to negotiate lower taxes with the Kaminoans. After the meeting, the Jedi were about to leave when they found out that a bounty hunter had kidnapped Senator Koma Te. Naturally, they felt an obligation to rescue the Senator and take the bounty hunter into custody.

Apollyon fired at Master Keal with his rapid fire blaster. The dozens of small, yet devastating, balls of blue light bounces harmlessly off Master Keal's green – bladed lightsaber. Apollyon lobbed a grenade at him and turned his blaster to Seth.

While his master cast the grenade into the ocean below, Seth blocked the stream of projectiles. It was not too easy for him, however. He was not used to being on the defensive, and he nearly got shot a few times. It was only because of his quick reflexes that he didn't get shot.

Once there was a respite in the fusillade, Seth charged with his two green – bladed lightsabers. Apollyon quickly activated his own lightsaber, a blue – bladed trophy taken from a Jedi he had recently murdered, and blocked two quick attacks. He countered with a stab to Seth's shoulder that was parried. Seth slashed at Apollyon's neck, but the assassin ducked and tackled him against his ship's loading ramp.

Apollyon struck Seth in the face with his fist then wheeled around to face Master Keal again. The Lannik fought using the Ataru style of lightsaber combat, resembling nothing but a blur as he attacked. Any opponent with slower reflexes would surely have been dived by the maelstrom of rapid swordplay. Apollyon soon found himself backed up against the durasteel exterior of his ship.

"Seth, get in there and free Senator Te. Escort him back into the government center. I can handle Apollyon." Master Keal told his padawan.

Seth did as he was told and entered the ship. Senator Te was inside, tied to the co – pilot's chair. He was struggling against the binds that restrained him and prevented him from moving.

Seth activated his alternate weapon: A purple – bladed lightdagger, and cut off the wire binding the Senator's hands behind him. He did the same with the barbed cable tying his legs together at the ankles. Finally, Seth pulled the cloth out of the Senator's throat that was choking him.

"Thank…You…" Senator Te coughed. "I do not think I could have lasted much longer."

"Follow me, Senator." Seth replied. "You have to get to safety."

Seth exited the ship, followed closely behind by the Senator. They ran to the bridge connecting the landing platform to the government building. They were halfway across when Seth stopped suddenly.

He realized that Apollyon had suddenly gained the upper hand in his duel with Master Keal. He had gone on the offensive, leaving the Lannik hard – pressed to block everything. If he backed up much further, he would be falling into the endless ocean beneath him. Seth had no idea how Apollyon had learned lightsaber dueling skills to rival his master's.

"Get inside." Seth told Senator Te.

He force – sprinted to Apollyon to aid his master against him. Apollyon seemed to notice, for he drew his blaster with a free hand. He took aim and fired not at the approaching padawan, but at the fleeing Senator. Three blue spheroids burned through the Senator's head, killing him instantly.

Seth threw his lightdagger at Apollyon in an attempt to avenge the Senator. Senator Te was dead, and therefore the mission could be considered a pyrrhic victory, if not a genuine defeat. If Apollyon were to pay the ultimate price for his crime of murdering a Senator, though, Seth would still retrieve at least a shred of dignity.

But it was not to be. The lightdagger cut Apollyon's blaster in half, but it did not necessarily make it useless. Apollyon clubbed Master Keal in the head with the end of his weapon. The older Jedi staggered backward too far. Seth could only scream in despair as his master disappeared into the ocean, never to be seen or heard from again.


	3. Chapter 2

**Hi girls/guys. I'm back. Been slacking off lately because I've been reading a lot more. Specifically, I'm reading Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier for my final English project. It's far from being my favorite book, but I've read worse. (Jane Eyre, for example.) And at least I don't have to read any of those crappy vampire romance novels. (What's up, Twilight?) As you can see, I'm a bit opinionated about the current state of literature. **

Chapter 2

Seth's eyes flashed open as he quickly sat up. He scanned his surroundings and saw that nobody was in the Jedi's tent with him. It was freezing, most likely because he had no shirt on.

He breathed heavily, trying to force that dream out of his head. _It was two years ago, and you have a new master now. _He thought. _Move on. Dwelling on it won't change anything. _

"Seth?" A girl's voice asked from just outside the tent. She entered and knelt down beside Seth.

"I'm fine, Darra." Seth replied in what amounted to unconvincing sugarcoating. "I just…Had a weird dream. That's all. Nothing you should worry about."

Darra, however, knew Seth was downplaying it. "You can tell me."

Seth gave a sigh of resignation. "It was a flashback to the mission on Kamino. Master Keal died there."

Darra remembered this clearly. Two years ago, Seth had told her that he had been assigned to a mission there. When he came back a week later, he began to act very strangely.

He only left his quarters for lessons and meals, which was normal for him. He was always known by his peers as somewhat of a recluse. But after Master Keal's death, this behavior became even worse.

Another thing was that he refused to see Darra. This was extremely unlike him because they were such good friends. No matter how bad his mood was, he just about never ignored an opportunity to talk to her. But in the wake of his master's death, Seth was actually _avoiding _her.

Darra knew exactly what was going on with him then. He wanted to be alone with his pain, and he did not want her to see him weakened so much by his grief. So she just waited until he came back around and would talk to her about it.

"I've never quite gotten over that." Seth elaborated. "I can never seem to get over the notion that it was my fault. Just like with my entire family. I just couldn't save any of them."

"Seth, you know that's not true." Darra replied, placing a hand on his muscular upper arm. "What happened to them is not your fault. You're not the one who killed them.

"Besides, you saved thousands of people today by getting the bomb out of the city. Master Keal would have been very proud of you for that. He wouldn't want you to just sink in misery over a death that happened two years ago."

Seth thought about her words and realized the truth in them. Master Keal would want Seth to move on after his first mentor's death. And he had saved many more people over the course of his sixteen – year – old life than he had failed to save.

"Alright." He said simply.

It was a vague reply, but Darra knew that he had decided to take her advice. She smiled and was about to give him a hug when her master, Soara Antana, walked into the tent. And awkward silence fell across the tent for a minute before being broken by Seth.

"Oh, don't mind me. I was about to go find a place to meditate." He got up and pulled a shirt into his hand with the force. He put it on and left, leaving another brief, awkward silence in the tent. Darra could not help but notice that it was becoming a habit of his: Breaking silences by announcing his departure, then leaving the place just as uncomfortably silent as before.

"Darra, walk with me." Soara said a few moments later. "You and I need to talk."

Darra shrugged and followed her master out of the tent. She was fairly certain that she knew what Soara was about to ask. However, when she spoke, Soara phrased it as more of a statement. A command.

"I want you to tell me what's going on with you and Seth."

"Master, he and I are only friends. I've never seen him as more than that."

Soara searched Darra's mind with the force and saw that she was uncertain about her own words on the matter. "You're not entirely sure of that."

Darra thought for a moment about why she would have feelings for Seth beyond just being friends. He was a good person to talk to about emotional problems, first of all. He had proved that last night in the tent. Darra figured this was partly because of his bouts with depression and post – traumatic stress, but still. It was good to have a friend like that you could talk to about these things.

Secondly, he had just saved her life twice earlier that day. Once when a Black Corps enforcer tried to stab her, and again when she nearly fell to her death. Seth had stopped her fall with the force mere seconds before she would have hit the ground and likely break a lot of bones, if she did not die on impact.

And not that it was really that important in the end, but Darra had always found him to be quite good – looking. She loved how he had grown his hair shoulder – length over the past year, to the point that she once told him outright not to cut it short. And those muscles…They had been toned to near perfection by years of combat training and supplementary workouts. Darra loved his muscles.

It wasn't long before Soara interrupted her thoughts. "Just remember what has become of some Jedi who let themselves develop these emotional attachments. That's what ruined Julius Kothrys' career in the order twenty years ago." She paused. "I assume Seth told you about his father's mistake?"

"No, actually." Darra replied. Her answer was half – true: Seth had told her that his father used to be a Jedi. But he was expelled in his early twenties. When Darra asked him why, she only received this rather vague answer: "All you need to know is that my father did not have much in the way of a moral code."

"I was your age, give or take a couple of months, when I was sent on a mission to Nikrom with Julius." Soara began. "We were sent with another master – padawan pair, but I can't remember their names. Anyway, we were assigned to protect the planetary governor's daughter when rumors broke out about how someone was planning to assassinate her.

"Sometime late in the mission, I learned that Julius had an affair with her. The HoloNet caught wind of the affair and naturally they had to spread the word to just about every corner of the galaxy. Nikrom's government and the Jedi Order were both scandalized and Julius was expelled."

"How did they find out about that?" Darra asked out of curiosity.

"I found out by walking in on them. The HoloNet found out when they overheard me reporting the news to Julius' master. You know what they did with that information from there."

Darra found herself very unsurprised that her master had found out about it by walking in on them. Just like last night when she woke up to see her padawan hugging Seth. _I guess this is just one of her habits. _

"I'm not going to stop you if you want to pursue a relationship with him." Soara continued. "But I'm going to remind you here and now, and regularly in the future, to always prioritize the mission first. And do be careful. Don't fall to the dark side because of any hypothetical feelings."

"I'll be careful, master. My priorities are exactly what they should be."

Darra left upon her master's dismissal, trying to convince herself that she'd never fall for Seth. _He's a great friend. But after all he's been through, he'll probably try to avoid that kind of a relationship. Besides, we both need to put the mission first. That, however, was much easier said than done. _


	4. Chapter 3

**Hi girls/guys. It's Matt again.**

**I really like the pace at which I'm writing this sequel. As we speak, I'm on page fifteen of my written rough draft. (About halfway through chapter 4.) And I just started it exactly three weeks ago. So I'm writing nearly a page a day in the rough draft. At his rate, I could be done with the sequel quicker than I was with the prequel. **

**Search Wookieepedia for stuff I don't own. If the article is present, I don't own it. If it's not, then it's my creation. **

**Enjoy the chapter. **

Chapter 3

Cleansing General Turkkis Valunnen walked around, inspecting progress on the relocated encampment. He had found a large plateau jutting out the side of a mountain and suggested it as the place to set up camp. For once, Cleansing leader Ceiden Orann took up his recommendation.

The Cleansing was on the run after their failed attack on the city of Portu. Orann had ordered that they refocus their efforts on the twin mountain cities, Marahti and Tamniemi. The General was hesitant to do so, but it was an order. His only other choice was insubordination, which would, conceivably, be punished by death.

General Valunnen had never liked Orann. The man tended to act as though he owned the galaxy, an attitude that annoyed him more than anything else. He also liked to belittle the General and lecture him as though he were a rebellious young child. But the worst part was how he blatantly favored his incompetent cousin, Black Corps Arkelon E'Sealin.

The General continued on in his mind about everything he hated about Orann as he arrived at the edge of the encampment. He needed to get alone for an important comlink call. He spotted a little cave in the mountains' side and walked in. The place was perfect for a secret call.

Moments later, his comlink rang. He did not hesitate to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hello, General Valunnen. Are you away from keen ears at the moment? We have much to discuss." Church of Aluu High Priest Teenen Kaimu addressed the general in his usual formal manner.

"Yes I am. Now I assume you want to present a plan for Orann's assassination?"

"Yes, Turkkis. I have two plans."

"That sounds promising. Continue."

"I have found a poison in my inventory that I decided would be good for our plans. It is an extract of glacier cobra venom. It will incubate hours after ingestion, destroying the heart and blood vessels. With luck, he'll die in his sleep, which would make this act look much less suspicious.

"You see, I am going to invite Orann to dinner to discuss the jihad. At least he will think that's why I am inviting him. I am going to prepare two drinks for him, both mixed with the venom.

"After his taster tries the drink and nothing initially happens, he will assume that it is clean and will drink it. But later that night, his heart and blood vessels will be destroyed slowly and painfully. He will not live to see the dawn of the next day."

"I must say, that plan sounds very insidious. It seems fairly simple, but it also sounds effective. But what are we to do if it fails?"

"I know several reliable bounty hunters. As a backup plan, I will dispatch one to kill him. I will not allow Orann to deceive our people with his false devotion anymore."

"That is wise. I do not understand how those back in Kaatthi don't see his hypocrisy."

"Nor do I, Turkkis. Listen, I have to take care of something right now, so we must end this discussion here."

"Very well, then. I look forward to seeing how your master plan works."

Teenen Kaimu ended his call in time to hear a ringing sound in his office at the Blood Cathedral. "Enter." He said simply, placing the faux skull he was holding back on his desk.

In came a short, red – haired man in his early thirties. He was wearing formal, crimson robes as opposed to the traditional, tight Kammean street clothes. He was wearing a businesslike sabacc face instead of his usual bloodthirsty grin. The man was Aleho Laixi, the most notorious bounty hunter ever to come from Kamme.

"You wanted to see me?" He asked simply, taking a seat at the other side of the desk.

"Why, yes I did. I have a job offer, and I think you may be interested."

"I'm listening."

"I want you to kill Ceiden Orann. He has deceived us all with his false devotion to the church. He's desecrated sacred statues, nearly depleted the church's wealth by hiring the Black Corps to serve as an 'extension' of the Cleansing, and said many blasphemous things about the Blood Lord Aluu. We cannot have a man like him in control of our divine mission."

"I'd be glad to do it," Laixi began. "But I am already in the middle of an assignment."

"I see…And what, may I ask, is that assignment? Who is employing you?"

"Orann hired me a few days ago to capture a group of Jedi. He wanted me to bring them alive."

At first, Kaimu was frustrated. He was going to hire one of the galaxy's best assassins to kill one of the biggest frauds in the galaxy, only to find out that said fraud had already hired said assassin. Bur soon, he thought of a way around that.

"What does he pay you?"

"He paid me ten thousand credits upfront, and when I'm done, he'll pay me another ten thousand. That's my usual rate."

"Would that be ten thousand for each Jedi you capture?"

"I'm afraid not." Laixi replied. "It's ten thousand for all eight of them."

_Excellent. I have him where I want him. _Kaimu thought as he made his next offer. "I will pay you twenty thousand for each Jedi you kill. And I will pay twenty thousand upfront for you to kill Orann."

Laixi did the math in his head. There were eight Jedi on the planet, and if he were to kill all of them, that would give him one hundred – sixty thousand credits in addition to the twenty thousand he was guaranteed. That was a total of one hundred – eighty thousand credits, nearly a fifth of a million, all for killing a few people. He found himself practically salivating over the lucrative deal.

"I accept." He said simply.

"Great. It has been a pleasure doing business with you." Kaimu said, reaching over his desk to shake the bounty hunter's hand.

"Likewise." Laixi agreed. He collected the high priest's initial payment and pocketed it. "I'll be on my way now. Jedi don't kill themselves."

"Indeed they don't." Kaimu said as Laixi left his office.

Laixi grinned to himself as he walked back to his speeder outside Kaatthi's Blood Cathedral. He had just received the most lucrative deal of his career. And this time, he actually got to kill his quarry. He did not need to worry about bringing them to Kaimu alive.

"I love my job." He said to himself.


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi girls/guys. It's Matt. I have chapter four up (Finally!) for your viewing pleasure.**

**Sorry if it feels like I've taken a while to update. My rough draft of this chapter really sucked and I wasn't sure what specific changes I wanted to make. And there's also the school factor. I'm finishing my classes over the next two weeks, then it's summer break. In just two weeks, I'll have all the time I could possibly need to write. Just two more weeks, people! **

Chapter 4

In the early morning hours the next day, the soldiers were woken up fifteen minutes earlier than was usual. The sun had not yet risen, and therefore there was no natural light in the barracks. The only illumination came from the red emergency lights in the large room full of bunks and soldiers stirring from their sleep.

"Distress signals are coming from near Marahti. The Cleansing is back on the offensive. This is not a drill. I repeat: This is not a drill!"

The soldiers all got into their uniforms as quickly as possible and dashed out of the barracks. They knew what the General was going to order them to do. They were going to find the aggressors and smash them.

"Everyone get into a snowskimmer and make your way to Marahti. This is not a drill. I repeat – This is not a drill!"

"We gets it. It ams not a drills." Private Henles Julisson muttered to himself as he hopped into the driver's seat of a the nearest vehicle in sight – A contraption indigenous to the Kammean people known as the snowskimmer. Basic was a second language to him, and it showed in his ineptitude at conjugating verbs and pluralization. This led to him being a big topic of ridicule among his acquaintances.

Three others got into the snowskimmer's passenger seats. Two Jedi: Obi – Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, took both back seats. The front seat was taken by Corporal Lache Thel – Tanis. Henles waited for the other soldier to give him the order to go.

"Drive at maximum speed, Private." Lache ordered. "And don't crash."

"Yes sirs."

Henles immediately turned the snowskimmer on and stomped on the accelerator. The vehicle zoomed ahead at a velocity Obi – Wan highly doubted was legal in populated areas. Henles had to swerve multiple times to avoid crashing the snowskimmer into several buildings.

"Be careful, will you?" Lache said in annoyance.

"I'm sorrys sir. I should have warneds you: I'ms not a safes drivers. The Jedis knows firsthands."

"Yeah, I can see that!"

Obi – Wan rolled his eyes as they continued to argue. Henles was making no effort to be careful with his driving. His display of sheer recklessness made Anakin look like the cautious, law – abiding pilot archetype, which said a lot.

After a few hours, they arrived at the scene of a pitched battle. A mix of Black Corpsmen, Cleansing troopers, and behemoth droids were attacking a relatively large force of defending soldiers in the mountains. Blaster fire burned through the air, sometimes hitting metal or flesh, and other times hitting rock harmlessly or just melting bits of snow on the ground. Vibroblades and pickaxes, with a few behemoth droid chainsaws, clanged against each other if they did not slice or stab thought flesh. Dead and wounded men were strewn across the snowy ground, as were the remains of several behemoth droids.

"Well…" Anakin began. "Here we go again."

"What are you…? Anakin, don't…" Whether Anakin did not hear his master or ignored him completely was unclear. He jumped out of the snowskimmer and activated his blue – bladed lightsaber.

"…So reckless…" Obi – Wan muttered as he joined his padawan and activated his similarly blue lightsaber. They deflected enemy fire back at the senders' joints. The deflected bolts were meant to wound, not kill, as Jedi typically frowned upon the act of killing.

More and more reinforcements trickled into the battle. Seth and his master, Kammean native Lija Niitterro, were the first of the other Jedi to arrive. They immediately got to work indiscriminately hacking behemoth droids into smoldering heaps of durasteel. Darra and Soara were next, immediately rushing to Seth and Lija's aid. The droids were debatably stronger than the armies of both the Cleansing and Black Corps, as the defending soldiers' blasters had little effect on their thick plating. Because of this, the Jedi generally took it upon themselves to focus on them so that the defending soldiers could prioritize stopping the human marauders.

Meanwhile, as the numbers of the behemoth droids rapidly dwindled, the Black Corps and Cleansing fared no better. The defending soldiers had struck the joint attack force in their weakest spot – Their difficulty fighting off reinforcements. The fact that the Cleansing rarely actually fought real armies was another factor.

Soon enough, their forces were in absolute disarray. They had all split up randomly into smaller groups and had begun striking at various different targets. Six of them ganged up on Lache and Henles, who were known to be among the best of the defenders' fighters. The two soldiers simply pulled out twin pistols and fired three shots each. Every one of them went through the heads, killing the attackers immediately.

"The Cleansings ams pathetics." Henles said disdainfully. "Thy flexes their muscles againsts innocents peoples, but they cannots stands against a reals armies."

"So true." Lache agreed. "Now why are we standing here? Those terrorists don't kill themselves anymore, you know."

Meanwhile, somewhere further away from the battle, Laixi was watching. He saw that the Jedi were all still preoccupied with the droids. The problem was that he only saw six. And he had been told that there were eight.

"Where are the other two?" He asked himself in confusion.

He heard two lightsabers ignite behind him. He wheeled around quickly and saw Zabrak Jedi Padawan Kaen Vatos and Nautaloan Jedi Master Kit Fisto. Both wielded green – bladed lightsabers that were pointed at him. _How could I let them sneak up on me like that? I'm more alert than this! Oh well, it's better when your quarry comes to you, anyway._

Laixi pulled out a tranquilizer dart launcher and fired two shots at point blank range. Both hit their targets in the stomach, paralyzing them and knocking them unconscious. Laixi placed his nonlethal weapon in its holster bound his victims' hands and feet together with stun cuffs. He then cuffed them to the rear of his speeder. _That's two of them. Now for the other six…_

Laixi hopped onto his speeder and piloted it into the midst of the battle. The two unconscious Jedi trailed behind him, repeatedly striking rock formations, droids, and people. This resulted in many small wounds that looked much more serious than they actually were. Laixi hardly paid them any mind.

He scanned the area around him for Jedi. He saw several flashing lightsabers, but the Jedi themselves were hard to see. Having to navigate his way through a chaotic battle served only to make things more difficult for him. He had to swerve repeatedly to avoid several projectiles that could have hit his speeder, which was stripped down basically to the engine and the cockpit. It was not a vehicle meant for battle, unlike the snowskimmers.

Eventually, though, he spotted Soara in the distance, fighting off a few behemoth droids. _She recovered quickly. _Laixi thought, remembering his duel with her and her Padawan two days prior. He took aim with his paralysis dart launcher and fired thrice. One harmlessly clanged off a behemoth droid's shoulder. Another struck a rock formation. The third, however, hit Soara in the neck, paralyzing her and knocking her unconscious.

A short distance away from Darra and Soara, Seth was about to engage more droids when he saw a stone out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw, to his surprise, that Laixi was controlling it. It was soaring right toward him! "Oh, that maimed son of a…!" Before he could finish the curse, the boulder crashed into him, knocking him off his feet and down to another rock ledge several meters below. When he landed, his world immediately turned black.


	6. Chapter 5

**Hi girls/guys. It's Matt again, with my longest Jihad Trilogy chapter to date. This one's around three thousand words long. My chapters in all of my projects almost never reach that length. I'm very pleased with the end result. **

**And for those of you who might not be familiar with Star Wars terminology, Seth did not almost say the b – word at the end. He was about to say, "bantha". I don't think the b – word we all know exists in the Star Wars universe. **

**I saw the Avengers in theatres of Saturday. All I have to say is his: I've never seen a single movie that was anywhere near as breathtakingly awesome as that one. You guys absolutely should go see it when you get the chance. If you've already seen it, then see it again. It's that good. **

**Enjoy the chapter. **

Chapter 5

Seth opened his eyes slowly. He craned his neck to the left, then to the right. Every inch he moved caused him pain. _No wonder I'm in a medical facility. Again. _

He was lying down on a rather uncomfortable bed in a small, white – walled room. A sink, counter, and durasteel chair were the only other articles of furniture in the room. Even with just those three things, the place felt cramped. The only cure to the claustrophobia induced by these confines was the mirror hanging from the roof.

Seth stared at it for a while and saw what bad shape he was in. His chest was marred with one gruesome cut that had a large patch of synthflesh over it, and several smaller cuts and bruises. His face was also cut in a few places. These injuries were not as gruesome as he had sustained when he fell through the escape pod windshield the day he arrived at the planet, but they hurt worse. He felt as though someone had just crashed a hovertrain on top of him.

"Have you had enough?" He asked himself. "Are you dead yet?"

"No, you're very much alive." Darra replied as she entered the room and sat down at the chair, pulling it closer to the bedside. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Survive all these falls. You keep nearly getting yourself killed. But you always seem just fine a few hours later. How do you do it?"

"I don't think I do the surviving part on my own." Seth began. "I guess my survival and sheer dumb luck is really the Force's way of telling me that there's more I need to do here. If I were meant to die any of those other times, I would have.

"As for the being okay just a few hours later, I do that on my own. I use the force to heal myself from minor injuries like broken bones. I can't heal myself from anything life – threatening. If it gets to one of my organs, I'm likely dead. But I didn't take any organ damage, so I'm fine."

"He's alive!" A shrill voice could be heard from just outside the room. Seth recognized it immediately.

"Oh no, not her!" He groaned as seventeen – year – old Leari Pitki, the General's daughter, came into the room. She beamed at Seth and practically threw herself on top of him.

"How did you survive that fall? Do you feel better now?" She bombarded him with questions as Seth groaned again.

"Um…Yeah, it's good to see you, too." He croaked, doing his best to make himself sound less annoyed than he was. He turned to Darra and pleadingly whispered, "Help me! Please!"

Darra was visibly irritated with the interruption, and was more than happy to oblige. "Get off of him. He's still recovering." She told Leari. The General's daughter ignored her. _Did she just hug him tighter?_ "Really, get off of him. He broke a lot of bones in that fall. Besides, I think your father wants you to check in on the other wounded soldiers.

"Huh? Oh…Right, I forgot." Leari blushed furiously and left the room in a hurry.

"So I see you've made a friend." Darra observed on a somewhat snide note.

"Uh…She's not my type." Seth replied. He changed the topic quickly. "Where are the others?"

"Masters Niitterro and Kenobi are both in the city right now. Anakin's with them. The other three, including my master…" Darra's face fell. "They're missing in action."

Seth was immediately hit with a very strong pang of sympathy for her. He understood that Soara was basically the mother Darra never knew. He had always been somewhat envious of the fact that they were as close as they were. His own master tended to leave him behind on most missions, and hardly even spoke to him. He was largely left to himself, which sometimes could be nice, but often only served to make him feel lonesome.

"She'll be back, Darra." He said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't stress yourself out too much. The last thing I want is for you to end up like me."

Darra nodded in understanding. She knew exactly what Seth had gone through over the past decade – Emotional hell. He had lost his entire family, as well as his first master, who had been like a father to him. She, on the other hand, had not yet dealt with that sort of trauma. At least for now, she was one of the fortunate ones.

Lache entered the room at that time. "Oh, there you are." He said to his sister. "Are you ready to go?"

"Go where?" Seth asked, getting up from his bed and tugging on a tight, black, long – sleeved shirt.

"I was going to show my sister around the cities. Henles is showing the others around, but I wanted to give my sister the tour. She and I have a lot of catching up to do. It's been fourteen years, you know." He paused. "But you're welcome to come along, too, if you can walk."

Seth walked across the room with little difficulty and no assistance. "Well…I can walk."

Lache's sunken brown eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets for a moment. "How did you recover from that fall so quickly?"

"I can use the force to heal myself from injuries as long as they're not life – threatening. It's very practical, and a lot quicker than, let's say, a few hours submerged in a bacta tank." Seth explained.

"What I would give to be able to do that…" Lache said distantly. He had always been in awe of the Jedi, and was more than a little giddy when they first showed up on the planet. "Anyway, we need to get going. I'm supposed to check in at the barracks in Tamniemi at 22.00 hours."

**End Scene**

The three of them spent much of the rest of the day touring the twin cities of Marahti and Tamniemi. The Jedi were going to need to know their way around both if they wanted to properly defend them. The cities were laid out much more simply than Seth and Darra expected.

Marahti was the most industrial of the cities, and as such there were factories just about everywhere. The acrid smell of smoke hung in the city's air, which discouraged the city's population. Lache explained that only a few thousand people actually lived there. Most of them were factory workers and foremen who received little income for back – breaking, and in the case of the foremen boring, work. They lived in the diluted housing district of the city in the north. The bulk of the remainder of the city was made up of undeveloped land.

Tamniemi was slightly more appealing. It featured an upscale downtown district in the very center, with suburbs at all four of the city's corners. The military academy was on the eastern side of the city, facing in the direction of the Cleansing's territory. The north, south, and west areas of the city were all made up of slums – Stomping grounds for the warring human and Twi'Lek gangs who ravaged the city from within little by little. Seth was shocked to hear that gangs could be senselessly killing each other over turf when there was already a violent religious jihad going on.

"We need to meet those gangs and convince them to focus their attention on the Cleansing." He said. "I don't understand how they could possibly get their priorities so inverted." Darra nodded in agreement, swallowing a spoonful of soup. They were having dinner at a casual restaurant in Marahti's downtown area.

"Pitki's tried that." Lache replied. "They never listen. In fact, they…"

"Are you three ready for me to take your bowls?" The waiter asked when he arrived at their table. Lache turned to Seth and Darra to see if they were finished with their food. When they handed their empty bowls and spoons to the waiter, Lache followed suit and paid for it with forty – five lappalli – the native currency of Kamme. "Thank you sir. Have a nice evening." The waiter said courteously.

"My pleasure." Lache replied, getting up from his seat at the booth and making his way out of the restaurant. Seth and Darra followed him.

"Thanks for buying dinner for us." Darra thanked her older brother. "The soup was really good."

"Yeah, thanks." Seth agreed.

"Glad you liked it. It's the best soup you can buy on a tight budget like mine."

Lache hopped into his civilian snowskimmer – A vehicle very similar to the military ones, but with a lower top speed and no built – in guns. Darra took the front passenger seat while Seth got the back to himself. Lache turned his vehicle on and saw that it was 18.30 hours.

"I've still got some time before I need to go to the barracks. You want me to show you one more thing before that?"

"Sure, why not?" Seth replied.

"We'd love to." Darra added in agreement.

"Okay then. Close your eyes and don't open them until I say we're there."

The two Jedi – in – training looked at each other, shrugged, and closed their eyes. A short period of silence passed before Darra asked Lache a few questions.

"Where are our parents, Lache?" She asked him. "Do you know?"

"I haven't had any contact with my parents in four years, Darra. Not since the day before I left Alderaan."

"Why, what happened?" She asked.

Lache hesitated to answer. "I don't want to talk about it right now. Sometime later, I'll explain it to you, but right now, I'd rather not. Family problem." He pointed over his shoulder to Seth. "He doesn't need to know."

"Hey, I heard that." Seth said casually. He seemed somewhat indifferent to the knowledge of Lache's old domestic situation. He understood that it was likely none of his business, so he did not press.

Darra did not press the topic any further, either. Instead, she just sat back, kept her eyes closed, and thought. She found herself thinking about what Seth told her at the medical center. _The last thing I want is for you to end up like me._ _He's hardened by everything he's been through. It haunts him and he's hardly ever happy. Who can blame him? But he cares about me and doesn't want me to go through any similar trauma. I love him, he's so…Wait, did I really just think that? _

She continued to think about this for the rest of the ride. She tried to convince herself that she did not love him that way, but could not seem to do it. She kept remembering the other night in the tent, when Seth had comforted her after the massacre at Kokka. Darra had seen horrible atrocities – Arson, vandalism, infanticide, merciless slaughter, and other terrible crimes that she had only heard about in limited detail before that night. It had been like living in a nightmare from which she could not wake up.

But Seth had talked to her, and encouraged her to carry the memory of the dead by fighting to defend what was left. He also told her something that she had never been able to get out of her head: "And everything you saw tonight, I'm not going to let happen to you. I swear upon my father's grave that none of it will happen to you." Those words gave her a feeling of security that nobody else had ever given her. Not even Soara, who was like a mother to her. _Maybe I really am falling for him. _

Eventually they arrived at their destination. "Okay, you two can open your eyes now." Lache said to the two padawans.

Seth and Darra opened their eyes and were amazed by what they saw. On top of the plateau upon which they stood was a staggeringly tall obelisk made of thick durasteel. It reached out to the skies, towering hundreds of meters over the heads of the many people around it. The square base seemed to gradually get thinner until the corners all converged at the very tip of the structure. Several verandas could be seen on the outside.

"The Obelisk of Hope," Lache began. "Was built several decades ago by some of the planet's most brilliant architects. This was when the Cleansing got started and began with riots rather than all – out warfare. The Obelisk was built during these difficult times to represent hope for a better future. A generation after its completion, things have gotten worse."

"But you still believe that things will get better, right?" Darra asked him.

Lache remained silent for a while. An expression of determination formed on his roughly square face. "Yes. I do believe. I vowed upon arriving here that I would do everything within my power to help make things better for these people, and I don't intend to go back on that promise."

Seth walked over to a mural that was painted onto the left side of the obelisk. It depicted an elderly man with long, gray hair and a fuzzy beard standing on top of a mountain. He was clad in the standard, tan and brown robes of a Jedi. His lightsaber remained clipped and deactivated to his belt. A small plaque in front of the mural was engraved with the following text. **Inside this monument lies Polaris Socrates Kothrys. A.K.A. Polaris the Wise, aged 66. **

"My great – grandfather was buried here?" Seth asked in bewilderment. "But he was a Jedi. Jedi aren't buried. They're cremated."

"Actually, Polaris' dying wish was to be buried here. He died on this plateau in combat with a young Cleansing sergeant. He wanted to be laid to rest among the people he had saved several times throughout his life. He loved this place." Lache explained. "I can show you to the casket, if you want."

"That'd be great." Seth replied.

Lache, Seth, and Darra all entered the obelisk. Lache led them straight ahead down a brief corridor and into a dark room that was completely barren except for Polaris' casket. The casket was relatively long, made to accommodate Polaris' tall form of nearly two meters. It was made of polished wood imported from Kashyyyk. A small podium at the head of the casket was engraved with Polaris' name and lifespan.

Seth placed a hand on the smooth, wooden casket. He never expected to be at his great – grandfather's grave. He had heard that he was a very wise and noble man – He had read records in the Jedi Temple library about him. Polaris had been very different from his son and grandson.

Polaris left the Jedi Order somewhere in his late thirties to be with his wife and to protect the Kammeans. Shortly after he departure, his son, Orion Cassius Kothrys, was born. The infant was discovered to have a connection to the force and was taken to the temple for training.

However, Orion turned out to be a very dangerously tempered fighter who had failed his training and fallen into darkness around his late teen years. He served a stint in a Coruscanti detention facility before breaking out. He was killed at the age of twenty – six, but not before fathering a son, Julius Attila Kothrys, Seth's father.

"Do not worry, my ancestor." Seth spoke softly. "I will not allow myself to end up like your son, my grandfather. I swear to you I will do whatever I can to make this planet that you loved a much better place for the survivors."

The next several moments passed in stoic silence. Seth's face was drawn into the look of absolute determination that Darra had gotten so used to at times like these. He had made an oath to his deceased great – grandfather, and he had no plans to go back on his word. Seth was not one to do that.

"So…We're on a bit of a time crunch now, so we should probably get back to the city." Lache said.

"Right. Let's go." Seth agreed, opening the door and motioning for Lache and Darra to proceed before him. Before he himself left the room, he cast one last, meaningful look at Polaris' casket. _I know you would be ashamed of the decisions made by my father and grandfather. I won't go down their path. I promise. _

**End Scene**

By 21.30 hours, Lache had dropped them off inside an apartment complex, in front of a door labeled 409. "409 is considered to be a lucky number on this planet." He explained. "We usually reserve rooms with that number for Jedi assigned here."

"We appreciate it." Seth replied.

"Yes, thank you." Darra added.

"Glad to hear. Now I need to get to the barracks in half an hour if I don't want kitchen duty tomorrow, and the traffic is terrible this time of the night. I'll see you two tomorrow, hopefully." Lache gave his sister a quick hug and left.

"Yeah, we'll see what we can do." Darra replied. But Lache did not hear her.

Seth and Darra walked through the door to see the interior of the place where they would temporarily stay. They saw that it was strikingly similar to the apartment in Meekku where they had stayed their first night on the planet. There were two small bedrooms, each with its own refresher. The kitchen was adjacent to the bedroom on the right, and there was a veranda opposite of the entrance to the apartment. The only difference between the two apartments was the addition of a small anteroom next to the veranda that had a couch in it and not much else.

"Oh, you two are back." Seth's master, Kammean native Lija Niitterro, was there to greet them. "What did you find out about the cities that we don't know?"

Seth and Darra told her everything. They mentioned the poor living conditions of the workers in Marahti, and they discussed the gang situation in Tamniemi. The latter seemed to be their main concern. That was especially true with Lija.

"We need to visit the slums tomorrow." She said. "We need to make them realize how wrong their priorities are."

"Yes master." Seth agreed.

"But right now, we all ought to get some sleep. Darra's staying with me. Seth, I'm giving you a choice between staying with Obi – Wan and Anakin or taking the small anteroom."

_Just like her to send me away as if I'm some kind of inconvenience. _"I'll take the anteroom. I generally prefer to be alone."

"Suit yourself." Lija replied simply, leaving for the bedroom on the right.

Darra yawned next to Seth. "I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Yeah, good night." Seth returned.

However, neither one of them moved at first. They just stood there in the entrance, staring at each other. Then, suddenly, Darra wrapped her arms loosely around Seth and kissed him on the cheek.

Seth's mind went into a state of shock. For about a minute after Darra left for the bedroom she was sharing with Lija, Seth was unable to speak, or even move. He could only stand there, staring blankly at the wall. What just happened took much longer than it usually would to sink into his mind.

But soon, he snapped out of this trance and realized that he probably looked like an idiot just standing there with his jaw gaping open. With an annoyed grunt, he left for the anteroom, wondering why he suddenly felt as though he could take on the galaxy's entire population of rancors with his bare hands.


	7. Chapter 6

**Hi girls/guys. It's Matt again. I have my sixth chapter up now for your reading pleasure. **

**This is a really short one, by the way. Hopefully I can make the next one longer. **

Chapter 6

Laixi finally arrived at the designated drop – off point Orann had directed him to after capturing them. The place was named Siikkaasaa, the Kammean word for "skull". Laixi grinned as he laid his eyes on the maximum – security prison for the first time.

Siikkaasaa was surrounded by four force fields and dozens of anti – air turrets. A couple hundred Cleansing troopers patrolled outside the building, which resembled a crudely – shaped skull. All carried Z – 6 rotary blaster cannons, sniper rifles, or blaster pistols, in addition to vibroblades. Laixi thought they looked like a very small assault team.

Laixi piloted his speeder toward the gate of the force field, only to be halted by a young sentry stationed in front of the first force field. "State your business." He ordered gruffly.

"I'm delivering a few…Special prisoners to Orann."

"Identification, please."

"Aleho Laixi, former Jedi apprentice. Now a bounty hunter and assassin."

"Any relations with Orann?"

"He's my client. He's paying me to handle a few…Interferences in his plans. He told me he'd be here." _Will this moron just let me in?_

"How long do you…?"

Laixi lost his patience. He pulled out one hundred lappalli and practically shoved in in the young man's face. "Take this fee and deactivate the damn force fields. I don't have time for interviews."

"Sir, we must have the requisite information…" Laixi interrupted him by just walking right past him and trying to deactivate the first force field himself. "Sir, I'm warning you for this only time right now: These other sentries will all open fire if you don't desist."

"There's no need, Sergeant Pekklinen."

Orann had deactivated the force fields and walked over to the two of them. He was wearing black Kammean street clothes – A tight, waterproof shirt, leather trousers, thick boots, and a sleek trench coat. His fiery red hair had just been cut down to mere stubble, which was also visible on his chin. His bright green eyes contained a wild look to them, as did his facial scars.

"I have three of the Jedi you wanted me to capture." Laixi announced. "So I would greatly appreciate it if I could now get three eighths of my pay."

"I'll pay you momentarily. Right now, show me the captives."

"With pleasure."

Laixi used the force to levitate the still – paralyzed forms of Kaen, Master Fisto, and Soara. All three of them were cuffed together by the wrists and feet. Their lightsabers had been confiscated and now hung from Laixi's belt.

"Very god job, except for the fact that they're not breathing." Orann commented. "I told you I wanted them alive in case they knew anything useful, remember?"

"I used some special tranquilizer darts that, for twelve hours, neutralize all life functions. They're still living, they just can't move or breathe or anything for a while. Their lives are basically paused for half a day before their life functions start back up. And trust me on this: When they wake up, they won't be in any condition to escape for several days."

"I see…Well come with me and help me get them into their cells, then I'll pay you." Orann commanded, not letting on how impressed he was that one could manufacture such an ingenious, diabolical weapon while somehow keeping it in the nonlethal category. It would take a brilliant weapons expert to create that.

Orann deactivated all the force fields and other security mechanisms by pressing a button on the back of his gauntlet. He led Laixi into the prison, through several convoluted corridors and up multiple turbolifts. Laixi followed, levitating the bodies ahead of him. He received many awed stares from the sentries, who had never seen a common man like him use such powers. _The force makes moving bodies from one place to another so much easier. I don't have to carry them myself. _

Eventually, they arrived at a section on the inner sixth floor of the prison that was designated for housing prisoners. There were only three empty cells on the end of the corridor. All were small, damp, and dark, furnished only by a single durasteel bed. A very small refresher was accessible by hitting a square, red button on the back wall of all three cells. These conditions were not unlike what Laixi lived with for a few years between the premature end of his Jedi training and his career as a bounty hunter and assassin.

"They imprisoned me wrongly fifteen years ago." Laixi spat, speaking primarily to himself. "And now they will know how I once lived before I kill them slowly and painfully. Those liars deserve nothing less than that."

"You can do whatever you want with them once I'm done interrogating them. It will probably be a few days." Orann replied. "Place one in each cell, will you?"

Laixi force threw one body into each of the three cells. "Okay, they're all locked up now. Where's my due portion of the pay?"

"Follow me."

Orann led him back down to the bottom floor, through several corridors and turbolifts. Within a few minutes, they arrived at the door to a large treasury room.

"Wait here." Orann told the bounty hunter. He entered the vault and put the exact due payment in a little bag. When Orann gave it to Laixi, he leafed through them to be sure he wasn't being scammed.

"It's all here." He said simply a few minutes later. "I'm going out for more of them. Same drop off point next time?"

"Yes. And don't worry about those security systems. They'll recognize you and your captives from here on out."

"Good. I should be back within the week."

Orann waited until Laixi had left the prison before going to his office in the back of the building. His aide, Jorru Raatikaala, was waiting outside. "Sir, you have a message from the High Priest." He said.

"What does he want?"

"He wants you to come to his villa for an evening meal tomorrow. He says that you tow need to discuss the Jihad."

Orann smirked. "Well don't just stand there! Send him a message saying that we'll go. You're coming with me, and if you see any hint of a trap, you're going to tell me."

"Yes sir. I'll send the message right away."


	8. Chapter 7

**Hi girls/guys. I finally finished chapter 7 today…Two days later than I wanted to, but hey, better late than never, right? Enjoy. **

Chapter 7

The five Jedi who were not in captivity rose early the next morning and set out for the slums of Southern Tamniemi. The poverty they saw there was reminiscent of Coruscant's lower levels, the only difference being that Tamniemi actually got sunlight. Graffiti littered the walls of decaying warehouses and other structures. Homeless people lined the street, begging pitifully for food, and in some cases money. Others were seen scrounging through garbage compactors for food and other things that may have been discarded. More than once, passing strangers tried to sell death sticks and other narcotics to the Jedi. All were mind tricked by Lija or Obi – Wan into abandoning their trade and contemplating what exactly they were doing with their lives. Nobody in the group was affected more by the grim sights than Darra.

"I think it's sad that the people in these slums live like this. Elsewhere, you see wealthy and middle – class people living at least somewhat comfortably, with all the food, housing, and educational opportunities they could need. Their children have endless opportunities in front of them to do whatever they want with their lives. But these people are subjected to abject poverty. They have to beg and dig through garbage compactors to get food and other necessities. They hardly have any future ahead of them."

"It's sickening that this squalor exists while we also have to put up with fat Hutt crime lords who look as though they haven't eaten less than eight meals a day in their life." Seth agreed.

In truth, the poverty did not sadden Seth so much as it annoyed him. After seeing worse poverty and countless other awful things he wished he hadn't, shock at bad living conditions was dead to him. It frustrated him, however, that it existed alongside the illegally gained splendor of crime lords such as Jabba the Hutt. He remembered hearing somewhere that seventy percent of the galaxy's resources went to twenty percent of its inhabitants. That comparison of two percentages annoyed him somewhat.

The Jedi suddenly heard much shouting and saw that dozens of unruly Twi'Leks were charging at them from all directions. A few of them had makeshift blasters, but most carried mere vibroblades or improvised weaponry. Whatever they were carrying, they intended to use it, and not for noble purposes.

The Twi'Leks with blasters opened fire on the Jedi, while the rest stayed behind as backup. The Jedi had no problem blocking the blaster bolts with their lightsabers. Blocking sloppily aimed blaster fire and letting it dissipate harmlessly in the snow around them was much easier than fighting swarms of terrorists.

"Stop! Everyone stop firing! These aren't the pale ones!" One of the Twi'Leks shouted over the noise.

Gradually, the sound of blaster fire died down. In turn, the Jedi deactivated their lightsabers, turning in the direction of the voice. They were approached by a young Twi'Lek male with blue skin and hazel eyes. His clothes were ripped, but appeared to be expensive judging by the silver and gold embroidering that decorated the shirt and sides of the trousers. He stood roughly Seth's height.

"I'm sorry for my subordinates' reckless actions." He said with absolute sincerity. "They mistook you to be thugs affiliated with the Pale Ones."

"Who are the pale ones?" Obi – Wan inquired.

"The Pale Ones are the human gang in Tamniemi and Marahti. They have, for several years, harassed the Twi'Lek population of both cities. They've killed off large numbers of us, destroyed our homes, and done everything within their power to wipe us off the face of the planet. They are bigots who need to be stopped, which is why I, Cedric Charniere, am in charge of all these valiant young men you see here, and many more. The military does nothing to help us, so I lead the Retribution in defense of our people."

"Oh, so the Retribution is the other gang…" Obi – Wan observed before getting cut off.

"We are not a gang! We are protectors of our race! Protectors from prejudice and injustice!"

"That's not what I've been told." Seth interjected. "From what I've heard, you're one of those gangs involved in that petty, senseless turf war of yours. One of two groups of angry teenagers and young men too shortsighted to realize that…"

"Enough!" Cedric roared. Seth's hand instinctively went to his dual – bladed lightsaber. "You dare to question our noble intentions? Make no mistake; we're not gangsters fighting over silly things like turf and drugs like everyone thinks. Their perceptions of us are wrong. We're defenders of our people!"

"We'll see about that." Lija replied. "Where can we find the leader of the Pale Ones? We need the two of you to talk things over before it's too late."

"What are you talking about?"

Lija explained the situation to the Twi'Lek. "In case you haven't been paying any attention to what goes on outside these slums, there's a maniacal religious cult on the rampage, bent on killing everyone here who doesn't subscribe to their faith. They recently ventured near these cities, and they could attack at any moment. We'll need the help of both your gang…"

"Defenders!" Cedric interrupted, visibly annoyed by how the Jedi were allegedly misjudging the Retribution. Lija ignored the interjection.

"…And the Pale Ones to defend against them. If you don't, both cities could be leveled and you all would lose your lives. If you really care about defending your people as you say you do, you will try to negotiate peace with the Pale Ones."

Cedric stood rooted to the ground for a few moments, mulling what he had just been told. He had heard about the Cleansing and their unspeakable atrocities in other cities and villages. But he had never witnessed them firsthand. The last thing he wanted, however, was for any of that to happen to his people.

"I don't know the exact location of the Pale Ones' stronghold," He began. "Nor do I know where their leader, Salni Korpikainen, is to be found. But I can tell you that the stronghold itself is a decaying factory somewhere in Marahti. Korpikainen might be there. I've heard that he has decorated the building with severed Twi'Lek skulls impaled on spikes. If that's true, you can't possibly miss it."

**End Scene**

General Jonnen Pitki spat out his drink in surprise. What had been in his mouth only a moment earlier was now sprayed all over his desk. A nearby protocol droid mopped it up wordlessly.

"You're going to what?" The general asked incredulously.

"We're going to convince the Retribution and the Pale Ones to call a truce." Lija replied.

"I've been trying to do that for years! And if anything, tensions between them have only gotten worse."

"Look, all we need is the location of the Pale Ones' stronghold. The leader of the Retribution thinks that we may find Korpikainen there. We need them to discuss peace so that they can focus on helping defend these mountains."

"It's in Marahti. 16th street in the factory district. You can't miss it. Just look for…" The General was cut off by the ringing of his comlink. "Hold on just a minute, please." He told the Jedi as he answered his comlink. "Yes?"

"Sir! We're under attack! The Cleansing and Black Corps are in Marahti! They…" The signal died, leaving nothing audible through the comlink but a loud static buzz.


	9. Chapter 8

**Hi girls/guys. It's Matt. **

**I know it's been a bit longer than usual, and I feel bad for keeping y'all waiting so long, but I have two reasons for it. 1) I had no internet access from June 17 – 21. I was at a community service program those days. It was fun, but it sucked that I couldn't type there. 2) I hit a freaking writer's block! The bane of my existence…**

**Anyway, I have the overdue eighth chapter up for your reading pleasure. Hope it was worth the wait. **

**Note: Arkelon does not use force lightning at the end of the chapter. He uses mechanical electric bolts. My fan InvaderAra gave me that idea. If you think it's cool that Arkelon can now do that, you can thank her. **

Chapter 8

The Jedi all rushed out of the office to find a ride to Marahti. Across from the building they had just exited, they saw groups of soldiers getting into snowskimmers that could hold up to five people. Thinking quickly, Anakin commandeered one of them and turned it on. Obi – Wan groaned at the prospect of his Padawan driving and took the front seat. The rest of the Jedi clambered into the back row.

Anakin drove way faster than was normally legal on the planet. He nearly hit several other vehicles and structures along the way out of the city. He never slowed down, no matter how many times Obi – Wan told him to do so. Seth felt bad for Obi – Wan, constantly having to put up with this kind of driving.

"This isn't a podrace, you know!" Seth bellowed over the roaring engine.

"But this is an emergency situation. You can't drive slowly at a time like this!" Anakin replied, taking a sharp left turn to avoid ramming another snowskimmer in front of him.

"Well at least…" He nearly swore as Anakin almost crashed into a house. "Quit jerking the vehicle around like that!"

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm trying to get us there as soon as possible, but it's distracting when people like you are shouting at me from the backseat."

"Then drive better!"

"Would you two be so kind as to stop arguing?" Obi – Wan asked, trying to sound less annoyed than he was. "Now's not the time for that."

"Yes," Anakin replied, driving much more smoothly now. "Sorry master."

It took about half an hour for the Jedi to get out of Tamniemi and into Marahti. It took another twenty five minutes for them to reach the scene of the battle in Marahti's Northern district. It was a bloodbath pitting behemoth droids, black corpsmen, and cleansing troopers against soldiers and street urchins who Lija figured were the Pale Ones. A few random buildings were burning. Blood, discharged weapons, dead bodies, and smoldering droid remains littered the ground.

"None of you are going to like this, but I have a plan." Anakin announced. "I'm going to pilot this thing into that swarm of droids."

"What are you…?" Seth was interrupted by Anakin.

"You all should jump out. Now."

Obi – Wan, failing to suppress an exasperated sigh, jumped to the snowy ground five feet below. Seth, Lija, and Darra all followed suit. Anakin took his hands off the steering mechanism, but kept his foot on the acceleration pedal until he was within twenty meters of the droids. Then he jumped out, and not a minute too soon as the snowskimmer crashed into the leader of that squad of droids, exploding and wiping out at least thirty of the metallic hulks.

The disruption did not go unnoticed by the other droids, who all turned their attention to the Jedi. They all could have just opened fire with their Z – 6 rotary blaster cannons. The heavy fusillade of hundreds of blaster bolts per minute could take out even a squad of Jedi when done properly. But instead, they simply yanked a cord on the chainsaw attachments to get them spinning and charged headlong at them. It turned out to be a very foolish decision.

Anakin stepped forward to engage them, followed closely behind by a very irritated Obi – Wan. They cleaved the first droids they saw in half. Anakin blocked a powerful downward sweep of another chainsaw and skewered the aggressing droid in the abdomen. He then cut off another's arm, then impaled it in the back. He realized that he was surrounded and spun around in a 360 degree angle, his lightsaber held out about half a meter in front of him. Every droid in the searing blade's path; five, to be exact, was cut down like a dying tree.

Obi – Wan also put on a good display of swordsmanship. His every parry created an opening for him to destroy another droid. Every aggressive slash and stab hit its mark and destroyed a droid. Despite his general preference for peaceful solutions, he was a brilliant fighter. This trait was exaggerated in this battle against intellectually challenged, predictable droids.

Lija cut one droid's cannon in half before slicing it into two imperfect halves. She sensed three droids behind her and swiftly impaled one of them through the abdomen. The next one swung at her waist with its chainsaw, but Lija wrenched it from its hands with the force and used its own weapon to slice the metallic killer in half. The last one lumbered toward her foolishly and was promptly beheaded.

Seth viciously tore through the ranks of the droids. Every slash of his dual – bladed lightsaber; His usual weapon for pitched battles, severed a droid in half. Every stab made one less for his allies to handle. And when the droids began to surround him, he released a powerful force wave in all directions, sending them all flying.

Darra also fought well against the powerful, but slow and unintelligent, Behemoth droids. She blocked the chainsaw attacks with relative ease and whenever she saw an opening for a strike of her own, she took full advantage. The number of destroyed behemoth droids quickly began to rise until there were almost none left.

Seth saw terrorists shepherding a few dozen civilians into a factory. Knowing full well what they were going to do, he charged at them, with Darra following.

Seth wasted no time cutting a hole in the wall so that he and Darra could enter. When they both entered, they saw that the terrorists hadn't wasted any time, either. Several civilians were on their knees, begging for mercy. Other were on the ground, writhing in agony if they were not already dead. Darra gasped in horror when she saw the severed head of a young boy no older than five lying barely a meter from her feet.

Seth charged for the first terrorist in sight, slashing him across the abdomen. Seeing how they were being freed, the civilians all made their way for the door and the exit Seth had created. Darra was going to stay behind to shield the civilians from blaster fire, but she noticed that the terrorists had all switched their focus to Seth. She ran toward Seth to help him out.

The first terrorist who noticed her grabbed a pickaxe and swung it at her. Darra cut it in half at the shaft and skewered the terrorist in the chest. She instantly felt a pang of regret for having killed a man. She had never killed anyone before, and the thought that she had basically taken someone's life away was most unpleasant. _Snap out of it! _She scolded herself. _This isn't the time for mourning dead people! _

Pretty soon, the terrorists in the building had all been either killed or neutralized. The civilians all managed to escape. But before Seth and Darra could leave, a large hold formed in the wall. Twelve black corpsmen entered through this improvised entrance.

At the front of the group of reinforcements was the leader of the corps, Arkelon E'Sealin. The man was snarling with a face heavily coated in flaky white paint and the blood of fallen enemies, making him resemble a reanimated corpse. Lifeless black eyes peered at Seth through a screen of tangled brown hair. His uniform was black, tight, and sleeveless, with several razor sharp spikes protruding from his wristbands.

"Kill her!" He bellowed at his men, pointing to Darra. "I'll fight Kothrys personally."

Seth gritted his teeth as Arkelon approached. He was well aware that Arkelon was Orann's cousin and right – hand man. Whatever Orann wanted done, Arkelon would do if Orann did not take care of it himself. _So if the coward really wants me dead, why doesn't the coward come here to kill me himself? _

Seth began to charge at the man, but stopped suddenly. He noticed that eleven highly skilled mercenaries were bearing down on Darra with their weapons drawn and at maximum power. Darra was a very talented fighter; the only Padawan Seth couldn't beat in duels and lightsaber drills. She could probably handle them on her own. But Seth felt this strange feeling that ne needed to protect her anyway. Was it obligation? Was it genuine concern? Was it…?

Whatever it was, Seth went with it. He force threw Arkelon across the factory and turned his attention to his minions. The first he met was viciously speared through the throat. Two others were swiftly beheaded with a slash of his double – bladed lightsaber. When one reckless corpsman charged at Seth, he him by the throat and maliciously impaled him through the chest. He proceeded to cut down five more while Darra deflected blaster fire at the remaining two, neutralizing them. In mere moments, Arkelon's squad was reduced to just himself.

Arkelon, however, was completely unfazed. He merely smirked as he drew a second vibroblade and ran toward the two Jedi. Seth and Darra ran up to meet him.

Arkelon struck first, swinging one of his blades at Darra's neck. She blocked the attack with ease. Seth tried to run his lightsaber into Arkelon's side, but was thwarted when Arkelon parried the blade of energy. Arkelon then tried to catch Seth with the spikes on one of his wristbands, but before he could, Seth jumped backward into attack position.

Seth proceeded to launch three powerful, but slow, hacks at Arkelon's head and neck. All were blocked with little difficulty. Arkelon kicked him in the ribcage and turned his attention back to Darra with a thrust aimed for her heart. She parried the attack, sidestepped, and swung her lightsaber in a precise, blue arc at his forearm. Arkelon simply flicked his vibroblade in its way, preventing the amputation.

Seth had gotten back up by now and switched to his red – bladed lightsaber with a curved hilt, which was better for duels. He deftly swung his newly selected weapon in a deadly crimson arc at Arkelon's stomach. Arkelon parried just in time and tried to stab Seth in the leg with his other vibroblade. Seth jumped backward and planted a jarring kick to his chin, knocking the man to the ground.

Arkelon, from his prone position, extended all five fingers of his robotic hand at the padawans. From the metallic fingertips, yellow bolts of what loosely resembled lightning darted out. Seth and Darra both blocked the steady streams easily until it became clear to Arkelon that his new weapon wouldn't work except in surprise attacks. He jumped up, took hold once again of both his vibroblades, and once again charged at them.

As the duel wore on, Seth began to understand Arkelon's approach to the battle. The Black Corps leader's attacks against Darra were all aimed for her head, neck, chest, back, or stomach. A wound there would likely be fatal. However, whenever Arkelon turned his attention to Seth, he merely struck at his limbs. Those attacks would mostly neutralize him, but would not kill him. _Clearly he wants to take me alive. _Seth thought. _But why? He could just kill me and fulfill his family's quest for vengeance against my household, which is down to just me as it stands, but why won't he? I mean…_

Seth's train of thought cut off abruptly as he took Arkelon's organic fist to his face. He suppressed a few profanities that came to his mind as he picked himself back up off the floor. He lunged back at Arkelon, who also charged at him and mercilessly hacked at his limbs. The blistering speed with which he did this left Seth hard – pressed to defend himself. He backed up steadily and quickly, until eventually he crossed an invisible line dividing the factory in half.

Upon realizing this, Arkelon quickly sidestepped to a control panel that was right next to him and flicked a switch. Instantly, a force field formed between the two of them. To ensure that Seth remained trapped, Arkelon fired electricity out of his robotic fingertips at the panel, blowing it up. The force field remained standing, sealing Seth off from the duel completely. Arkelon smirked to himself as he turned his attention back to Darra. _If what our double agent has told us is true, Kothrys will not enjoy watching me kill her. _


	10. Chapter 9

**Hi girls/guys. It's Matt again, and I've got another chapter ready for you. **

**Today is the 1****st ****year anniversary of the day I got my account on this site. I want to thank every single one of you who have tried reading my stories for your support, reviews, alerts, etc. I love y'all. (Sorry if that sounded weird.) I appreciate your support so much. **

**One of my biggest fans and closest friends on the site, xSeverusxCrookshanksx, will no longer be able to update her stories for personal reasons. I would like to take this opportunity to tell you all not to be too hard on her for it. Don't send any hate mail or anything like that. If you really knew what was going on, you'll understand why. **

**Anyway…Here's the new chapter. I hope you all like it. I waited until today to upload it to commemorate my anniversary on the site. Thank you for your patience. **

Chapter 9

Obi – Wan thrust his lightsaber through ha behemoth droid's neck and turned his attention to the cleansing troopers behind him. They were struggling to gain the upper hand over the defending army. As it was, they were outnumbered, so it was not likely that they would gain it. Especially when one took into consideration their general ineptitude against real soldiers as opposed to murdering civilians armed only with their fists and makeshift weaponry.

Remembering that Seth and Darra had gone into the warehouse to rescue some civilians there, and sensing that things were not going too well for them, Obi – Wan opted to help them. He turned to summon his padawan, but was instead greeted by Laixi and his paralyzer dart launcher. He felt something sharp hit him between the eyes, then his body went stiff and unmoving.

**End scene**

Seth was cut off from the other half of the factory. While Arkelon had just turned his attention back to Darra, attacking her viciously with twin vibroblades, he was stuck on the other side, behind a force field that wouldn't turn off because its control panel had been destroyed. Darra was struggling against Arkelon's blistering attacks, and Seth was in no position to help her.

The helpless feeling frustrated him immensely. He desperately wanted to run up to them and hack Arkelon down before he could kill Darra. But he couldn't. Not with a force field in his way. A dreadful feeling crept up inside him that Darra could actually die if he did not do anything.

_No! I promised her it wouldn't happen to her! I wouldn't let anything happen to her! There's got to be a way! _He remembered that he had multiple lightsabers that could all burn through the metallic walls easily. _Right. I'm coming, Darra! _

He took out his yellow – bladed lightsaber staff and used it to cut a hole through the wall. He emerged out to the cold of the outside, stepping roughly ankle – deep in snow. He noticed the forces of the Cleansing beginning to clear out of the city. _Well that's one less problem I'll have to deal with today. _He moved to the other half of the wall and cut another hole through it.

After walking back into the factory through the improvised entrance, Seth saw that things had already gotten worse for Darra. She was backed up against the wall, and as such had little room to move to block Arkelon's attacks. More than once, she was nearly impaled, only escaping by moving sideways. It would only be a matter of time before Arkelon defeated her.

But something unexpected happened. A single blaster bolt tore through the air and burned into Arkelon's shoulder. Everyone in the building turned in the direction of the shot.

Several paces away, a young man was standing with his blaster pistol pointed at Arkelon. His dark brown hair had transformed into a mane of back – length dreadlocks due to months of neglect. His shirt was torn and sleeveless, and his trousers had large holes in the knees. There was little doubt in Seth's mind that the shooter was one of the Pale Ones.

"Hello," The shooter said. "I am Salni Korpikainen. You trespassed on my turf. Prepare to die."

Arkelon stared at him. Then shifted his gaze to Darra. Then Seth. He had held his own against the last two for a while, but he knew he wouldn't win against three. He had fought angry gangsters before, and in spite of their normally makeshift weaponry, they were still formidable foes half the time. He extended his metallic fingers to Salni and shot from them the yellow bolts. Seth and Darra saw firsthand what they did when Salni was lifted into the air and thrown against the wall, landing hard on his back.

As Arkelon turned back around and ran, Seth gave chase. The Black Corps commander noticed this and grabbed a sharp, broken metal rod from the ground. He spun around quickly to throw the projectile, only to see Seth cleave it in half with his lightsaber pole. Arkelon had cost himself precious moments he could have used getting away.

He continued his attempts to slow him down after running several paces, or a third of the way across the width of the building. He picked up a wooden crate with the finger bolts and threw it at Seth, who tapped into the force and smashed it with his fist. He hardly noticed the two small splinters in his hand.

Arkelon had gotten very close now to the door, when he tripped on another crate, this one metallic. He had to break his fall with his hands to avoid landing on his nose. He turned over and saw Seth approaching him, now merely a few meters away. Once again, Arkelon extended his metallic finger tips to Seth and triggered the bolts. Seth felt himself flying across the room, and eventually crashing into the wall. Fortunately, no bones were broken.

Darra ran up to the Black Corps commander in a last – ditch effort to capture him. She blocked the first electric wave aimed at her with her lightsaber, and jumped to avoid the second one. But the third one sent her flying backward like Seth and Salni mere moments before. She hit the wall, then the ground, groaning in pain. Arkelon dashed out of the building, hopped into the nearest empty snowskimmer just outside the factory, and drove off.

Back in the factory, Seth got up somewhat painfully. He scanned the building for Arkelon but realized that he had already fled. He did, however, find Salni standing near the force field, doubled over with pain. A small, but very sharp, scrap of metal on the wall had stabbed through his abdomen. Darra was still sprawled out on the floor next to him.

"Are you okay?" Seth asked her, helping her up.

"I'm fine." Darra lowered her voice. "We can't let him leave yet." She gestured to Salni.

"And why not?" Salni asked, having overheard the two padawans.

Darra turned to him. "You said earlier that your name is Salni Korpikainen."

"Of course I did. What's this got to do with anything?"

"We heard that you are the leader of the Pale Ones gang. Is that true?"

"It is." Salni paused. "Are you going to imprison me?"

"Not yet." Seth replied. "We need you to do something else."

"And that is…?"

"We need you to negotiate a truce with the Retribution."

"What?" Salni asked incredulously. "They killed my family and my fiancé, and now you expect me to just stop trying to avenge them? No. No! Not going to do it."

"On behalf of the order, I offer my condolences for all that," Darra said. "But there are more important things at stake."

Seth explained the situation further. "The Cleansing appears to have their sights set on the twin cities. They've already leveled and re - inhabited every city on this planet except Marahti, Tamniemi, Portu, and Meekku. We need you and Charniere to negotiate peace and fight with us against the Cleansing. If you don't, it will likely only be a matter of time before they gain control of the mountains. You'd be killed for not sharing their religious beliefs, and even if you escaped, you'd be a long way away from Portu and Meekku, with nowhere really to call home. What's it going to be?"

Salni pondered what Seth had told him. He had lived in the cities throughout his twenty – two year life. The last thing he wanted was to see his home go up in flames. But the Retribution had taken so much from him. He doubted he could ever forgive them.

"I will consider it." He said finally. "Meet me at the Obelisk of Hope tomorrow at noon and I will give you my answer then."

"We'll be there. Thank you for considering." Seth replied.

**End scene**

That night, Seth was alone in his small anteroom at the apartment. Since the battle, Lija had filled him in on how Obi – Wan was knocked out and taken away by a mysterious man with long red hair. Lija explained that he thought he looked familiar, but could not figure out why. Seth had also informed her and Anakin about the scheduled meeting with Salni.

Anakin was in his room, which he now had to his own in the wake of Obi – Wan's abduction. Lija was in the room she shared with Darra, who was out spending time with Lache. She had asked Seth if he wanted to tag along, but he declined. In truth, however, he really did want to go. For reasons still unknown to him, he could hardly get her out of his head. _I'm alone now. This is as good a time as any to figure out what's going on with me. _

He sat down on the couch and thought about it. Darra had been a very close friend of his since the beginning of his adolescent years. In fact, she was only friend he ever had in that stage of his life. He had never been closer to anyone near his age since his twin brother Calyx was still alive. In addition, Darra was the only person Seth could tell cared about him.

Seth always had doubts about how much he really mattered to Lija, his master. After a failed mission a few months ago that had resulted in the death of Seth's father, Lija seemingly wanted nothing to do with him. She regularly accepted missions while leaving him behind. And even when she was at the temple, she seldom spoke to him.

The other padawans typically had a very low opinion of Seth. While they acknowledged his prowess at combat, they completely ignored him in social settings. They ostracized him for being antisocial and for his volatile temper. Seth also received irregular mocking for the fact that his parents were unmarried when he and Calyx were conceived. As he grew older, however, that began to irritate him more than it hurt him. By the age of sixteen, he had altogether stopped caring.

And then there were the other fully qualified Jedi. They only put up with him for his combat expertise and he knew it. They were also generally quick to judge him, especially in the case of the council. Because of that, he was very reluctant to talk to them about anything remotely personal. He did not need a judge. That would be left to whatever deity might exist in the galaxy. What he needed was a friend to talk to who would understand his plight.

Darra had been exactly that for years. Whenever he needed to talk to her, she listened. She never judged him for his problems, emotions, or anything else. Darra made it clear to him that whenever he needed to talk to someone, she would always listen. He could tell her anything. Seth could not have asked for a better friend.

But now, "friend" seemed like an understatement in reference to her. Seth felt now that she was somewhere beyond just a friend. Sister? That didn't sound quite right, either. The only other term that came to mind was "love interest".

Seth struggled not to laugh at the thought of it. _Me? Falling in love? Impossible! _

But as he thought about it more deeply, he realized that it was not so impossible. Earlier that day, Darra was facing ten black corpsmen on her own. She probably could have defeated them, but Seth had still felt this urge to help her and protect her. Seth had lost very many people in his life that he cared about, but as long as Darra was still living, he still felt like he had someone he cared about personally to protect. Looking back, he had always felt like he would need to protect her, but this mission was the first time that he had actually acted upon it.

There was also that time days ago when Seth had comforted her after the massacre at Kokka. That had led to their first hug, which gave Seth this feeling of invincibility that had never before flown through his veins. Nobody had made him feel that way before. _And frankly, I don't think anyone in my life right now possibly could. _Seth realized then that the feeling could only mean one thing.

_Well Seth, _He thought. _You've fallen for her. What the hell are you going to do with yourself? _


	11. Chapter 10

**Hi girls/guys. I'm back again with the tenth chapter in Crimson Mountains. I think I'm about a third of the way through this one. It's just an approximation, though. **

**I had a very hard time with the second part of this chapter. My progress through it was very lumbering partly because I had a hard time coming up with the right words, and partly because I've had sort of a crappy week. **

**Enjoy the chapter.**

**WARNING: This chapter contains a sexual reference. It's not explicit (I have a personal policy of avoiding explicit graphic love stuff), but it's still clear what's being referenced. Be advised. **

Chapter 10

"So Arkelon, tell me how the attack on Marahti went." Orann demanded a status report from his cousin, who had just recently contacted him via comlink.

"It failed. We were routed as soon as the Jedi showed up." Arkelon replied. He had washed off his corpsepaint after the battle, making the several scars on his face more visible.

"Were you at least able to capture Kothrys?"

"I am afraid not. But our spy Ragnarok has some critical information concerning him. It's a mental weakness of his that may or may not have been lying under our noses for years."

"Well tell me!" Orann urged impatiently.

"He seems to have feelings for a comrade of his. She is a human girl of about fourteen or fifteen years. You can't miss her. She's got this multicolored ribbon woven into her padawan braid."

Orann scratched his chin thoughtfully for a while before answering. "Fascinating. Now I can torture him even more before I kill him. Cousin, I have a new plan!"

"Let me guess: You want to kill her to cause Seth even more emotional agony, then kill him when he gets reckless and tries to avenge her."

"Ah! I see the E'Sealin clan does have an intellect gene after all! Yes, that is exactly what I had in mind."

"It's brilliant, Ceiden. It's fun to see him suffer like this. I'll miss it when we finally dispose of him." He paused momentarily, then changed the subject. "So how did the evening meal with the High Priest go?"

"It was a trap. He tried to poison me, but my aide noticed and switched my drink with his when the crazy old zealot wasn't looking. Apparently he was displeased with me."

"Well you wouldn't have that problem if you hadn't spat on that statue on your way to recruit the bounty hunter. Even to an atheist like me, that was low. And mark my words: They won't forgive you."

"You raise a good point, Arkelon." Orann said. "I guess we'll have to leave the planet earlier than expected."

"When?"

"After we help the Cleansing claim Marahti and Tamniemi, and once Kothrys is finally out of our way, I'll stay behind to begin excavating for my grandfather's spice stash. You'll move on with the rest and fake your death in the very next battle. After…"

"How will I fake my death?" Arkelon interrupted.

"It should be obvious. You and your men look very alike, and it would be easy for a dead one of them to be mistaken as you. Especially if you coax one of them to wear their face paint the same way as you and put him on the front lines." Orann replied. "As I was saying, after you fake your death, you will meet me and help me in my search until we find it. And after that, we get off this miserable snowball, sell the spice to some Hutt crime lord, and get obscenely rich."

"Are you sure you're okay with leaving this planet to its fate of self – destruction? That sounds very shallow and short – sighted if you ask me."

Orann chuckled. "You really are going native, cousin. I told you I don't care about this jihad nonsense. I only came here in the first place for my grandfather's treasure. If the Cleansing wants to burn their world for a god who doesn't exist, that's their decision. It really doesn't concern me."

"And don't forget that we're also going to kill Kothrys while we're at this."

"Of course. Relocate your forces so that they are closer to Tamniemi. Wait for my signal to attack."

"As you wish, sir."

**End scene**

The force ghost of Polaris Kothrys strolled casually through a secluded part of a cemetery in Meekku. Not a living soul was in sight. It was as Polaris was used to, as he had never interacted with a living person since his death forty years ago. He had no desire to speak to the living on this night. He was searching instead for the force ghost of his grandson, Julius Kothrys.

The other ghost appeared standing beside a large tombstone. His spiritual form was pale blue, and clad in his old Jedi robes. His hair fell slightly past his shoulders, and he sported a beard on his chin. His eyes still retained their ice blue color that he had passed down to his living son.

"Hello grandfather." He said. "You were expecting me?"

"Yes, Julius. We need to talk about your son. Walk with me, will you?"

"Of course." Julius joined his father in his walk. "What is troubling you about him?"

"First of all, he is even more reckless and aggressive than Orion was at his age. If he were to fall to the dark side, he would be even more dangerous than him. I saw him during the massacre at Kokka."

"Grandfather, I think you ought to relax. His heart is in the right place. He wants to help the weak and defenseless and bring justice to the oppressed. Is that not what we were supposed to do as Jedi?"

"He was burning men with fire, Julius!" Polaris shot back. "He subjected dozens of men to one of the most inhumane deaths possible. As Jedi, we are to generally frown on killing in the first place, but when we have to do it, we need to at least do it humanely."

Julius sighed irritably. "Okay, so he tends to take the militaristic part of his job a little too seriously, but…"

"We are not talking about the militaristic part of the job! We are talking about his combative ethics! Look at yourself, blinded by your own bias in favor of your son. You cannot see how dangerous he truly is!"

"Dangerous to the evil and lawless. And he knows that his mission is to capture my murderer and not kill him. He does have some self – restraint, you know."

"Perhaps, but he surely did not get it from your side of the family."

Julius again sighed irritably. "Grandfather, this is not the time to bring up my night with Hestia."

"Actually, it is the perfect time, because there's something else that concerns me very much about him."

Julius was aware that Polaris' words spoke for themselves. "So what if he does have feelings for a certain girl? It happens to young men all the time at this point in his life. You know that we are by nature easily excited by beautiful women. It's just that some of us are better at concealing it than others."

"I know, but look at how you, me, and your father all ended up departing from the order. I left to be with my forbidden wife, which I did not realize at the time was a very shallow and short – sighted decision on my part. My son Orion, your father, fell to the dark side because he failed to properly handle the death of his forbidden girlfriend. And you were expelled from the order for your one – night stand with Hestia. Do you see the trend here?"

"It wasn't because I slept with her, and you know it." Julius retorted. "It was because the HoloNet had to make such a big deal out of it. They're the ones who made it into a scandal. Not me."

"You never did learn to be responsible for your errors." Polaris said ruefully. "But anyway, I am not concerned about him repeating your mistake. I'm more concerned that if his love interest dies, he will repeat Orion's fall to the dark side. I need to warn him."

"Grandfather, I cannot say that I agree with you, but please let me deliver your message instead."

"No. You cannot make yourself known to Seth. He is struggling enough to get over your death as it is. Appearing to him in this form will only make it worse. He will move on quicker if you leave him alone."

Julius' eyes narrowed resentfully, but he still nodded in understanding. "Very well. But if I can't make myself known to him, I see no reason that you can. Give him the message indirectly, and only appear personally to him when absolutely necessary."

"Do not worry. I was not planning to appear to him anyway. I'll find another way to leave the warning. No one will believe I was actually behind it."


	12. Chapter 11

**Hi girls/guys. I'm back again. **

**Sorry I've been slow with my updates lately. I've had a pretty stressful past couple of weeks. (Details are personal.) I can never focus on my work when I'm really stressed out. It'd be more convenient for me to hit that mood during a sadder part of the series. **

**I'm starting school again on 8/13. I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't get to update this summer as much as I wanted. **

**Enjoy the chapter. **

Chapter 11

The next day, the remaining Jedi who hadn't been captured returned to the slums of Tamniemi to find Cedric. They were expected to meet Salni at the Obelisk in a couple of hours to hear his decision regarding peace between the Pale Ones and the Retribution. In case Salni agreed, they wanted Cedric there as well so as to get negotiations underway quickly. With the Cleansing likely to launch another attack at any moment, their time to settle on the terms of the truce was limited.

However, there was nobody in sight. No Twi'Leks, no humans, nobody. The only things to be seen were the walls of dilapidated buildings, coated in graffiti. One work of graffiti in particular stood out to Seth. Written in green letters was the following quote:** You can only count on your emotions to do one thing; lie to you. – Polaris Kothrys. **_Says the one who left the order to be with his wife, whom he wasn't even supposed to marry in the first place. _

"This is strange." Darra observed. "It almost looks like the Cleansing's been here."

"They haven't." Lija replied. "We'd be stepping on corpses constantly if they were here."

Suddenly, they heard a commotion coming from inside one of the buildings. Seth walked up to it to investigate, pressing his ear to a crack in the wall's foundation. The discussion was in Kammean, the native language of the planet, which Seth could speak fluently. It was the only thing he felt he had learned from Lija.

"You're actually going to do it?" A voice asked.

Cedric's voice replied, "I think that the Cleansing may be a common enemy of ours. So yes, I really am going to attend the truce negotiations."

"You can't be serious! They'll just go right back to exterminating us the moment the Cleansing leaves for good!"

"Maybe, but we will last longer if we just call a truce with the Pale Ones and focus on repelling the more dangerous enemy."

"But…"

"You can object all you want, but my decision is final. Now if you will excuse me, I have to meet up with the Jedi."

Seth quickly made his way back to his comrades to make it appear that he had never been listening in on any conversations. "I've got good news," He began in a subdued voice.

"I have to meet with Korpikainen at the Obelisk in about an hour." Cedric called to them, inadvertently finishing what Seth was about to say. "But I don't have my own snowskimmer. Think we can borrow one or two?"

"We know where to go for that. Follow us." Lija replied.

**End scene**

A few moments later, Cedric, the four jedi, and Lache were all standing outside Tamniemi's barracks. The young soldier had been assigned by General Pitki to drive them all to the obelisk. Since there were six people total in the company, and the snowskimmers barely seated five people, Cedric had volunteered to be a second driver.

"Can I ride with you?" Darra asked Lache.

"Sorry, but not this time. I need to speak to your friend. You'll have to ride with the others."

Although she was disappointed, Darra nodded in compliance. She turned around to relay Lache's request to Seth, only to see him embroiled in an argument with Anakin.

"No, you can't just leave the mountains and search for the captives. You don't know where they're being held, you can hardly drive these things," Seth gestured to the snowskimmers for emphasis. "And in case you forgot Lija's instruction earlier this morning, she explicitly told us to stay in the twin cities area. She won't let you leave."

"Are you questioning my piloting? If you're talking about yesterday, I got us to Marahti faster than you would have. You know that in times like that, you really just need to ignore the guidelines. If we had arrived any later, even more lives would have been lost, but since I got us there quickly, there were only a few dozen casualties."

"No, this has nothing to do with your piloting, though I am a bit alarmed at how recklessly you were driving through such populated areas. You just need to keep your priorities straight. After all, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few and the one."

"Don't talk like a philosopher, because you're not! Even if you'd like to think you are."

"Boys, stop it." Darra told them. "This isn't a good time for arguing."

They both looked at her for a moment, then glared at each other. Anakin walked away and got into the back seat of one of the snowskimmers, grumbling all the way.

"What was that all about?" Darra asked Seth.

"Oh, he wants to go searching for Obi – Wan, even though Lija clearly told us earlier this morning that we need to stay in this area. He's being very shortsighted and selfish. I don't like that guy one bit."

"I see." She paused. "Lache needs to speak with you on the way to the Obelisk."

"Why?"

"He didn't say."

Seth swore in his head. _This is just great! How does he know…? _"Well if he insists."

An awkward silence passed between them for a moment before Seth walked away toward Lache's vehicle. He nearly glanced back at her, but realized that her brother was around. _I don't think it'd go over too well with him. _

He got into the front passenger seat and waited for Lache to get into the vehicle next to him. When the soldier did, he pressed an orange button on the control panel that caused a metallic roof to slide over their heads. Seth hated the cramped conditions, especially since he was sharing the snowskimmer with a burly soldier such as Lache.

"Press the blue button, will you?" Lache asked, tightening his immaculate blond ponytail. "It'll block out outside noises."

Seth did what was asked of him, and was surprised not to hear the loud humming of the engine when Lache turned the vehicle on drove off on their way out of the city.

"My sister has talked about you a lot since I met her." Lache began.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, especially last night. Henles also pointed out to me a few nights ago, after the massacre, that she was the only one of your comrades you asked about after you woke up. Henles may be a terrible driver, and he may speak cringe – worthy basic, but he's very observant."

"Where are you going with this?" Seth asked, trying not to sound worried.

"I thought you'd know by now. You're…Eighteen, right?"

"Sixteen. Everyone thinks I look two years older for some reason. I'm not sure why."

"I see. Well, I thought you'd know what I was getting at. Are you and Darra involved?"

"What do you mean?" Seth asked, playing dumb. He knew full well by now what Lache was talking about.

"You know…In a relationship as more than friends. Are you two that close?"

"What? No, no. Definitely not. That's ridiculous! I'm a Jedi! I don't have time for anything like that. I've got to be out there bringing peace to the galaxy and protection to the innocent, you know?"

"But you do have feelings for her."

Seth's eyes bulged open. "How'd you know that?"

"It wasn't that hard. She told me last night about how you have gone out of your way to save her live several times over the past few days. For example, she mentioned that yesterday you had killed off several Black Corpsmen who had been assigned to kill her. She said she probably could have handled them herself."

"She definitely could have. She's a better fighter than I am."

"You're only proving my point. You knew she could have handled herself, but you chose to help her anyway. If you only saw her as a friend, you most likely wouldn't have done that. You'd have probably engaged the commander on your own and let her fend for herself, since you knew she could have taken care of herself."

"It's really that obvious?" Seth asked despondently.

"You're wearing it on your sleeve, my friend." Lache chuckled.

_How could I be so careless?! _Seth admonished himself. _I really am wearing my heart on my sleeve. The others could have caught on, too. They probably have. _"Don't tell anyone. These feelings are strictly forbidden in the order."

"Nobody will hear about it from me. You have my word on that. However, I have to go over a few things with you before I can let you defy the order's regulations and actually pursue a relationship with my sister."

_Now let the protective older brother rant begin. _Seth thought.

"I want you to understand that if you hurt her in any way, I will never forgive you." Lache said. "I'd say I'd kill you, but my legal record is spotless, and I want it to stay that way."

"Relax, I don't hit women." Seth replied. "Only the Cleansing and the Black Corps need to fear me right now."

"Well that's good to hear, but I wasn't just talking physically. I don't want to hear a word about any escapades with other women, and I don't want you to let anyone hurt her, either. I doubt you would allow the latter to happen, though. You've already proved that."

"Don't hurt her, don't let anyone else hurt her, and don't cheat on her. Is that everything?"

"Yes, that summarizes everything. And remember: I will never forgive you if anything happens to her."

"I promised her that I wouldn't let that happen." Seth assured Lache. "I am a man of my word, and I'll be damned if I act otherwise."

"I think it's established now that I can trust you."

_Good, so as long as I don't let anything happen to her, I have his blessing. But does Darra even return my feelings? And if she does, how will we even pursue a relationship in secret? _Several questions still had yet to be answered.


	13. Chapter 12

**Hi girls/guys. I'm here now with the twelfth chapter in Crimson Mountains. **

**I hope I'm not boring you with the lengthy lull between fight scenes. I wanted to take a less combat – oriented approach to this as opposed to Blood of Innocents. I wanted to improve my technical writing, which I thought was a bit sloppy in parts of BoI. (As to whether or not I actually have improved, I'll let you readers determine that.) **

**This is going to be a longer chapter, by the way. Just thought I'd let you know. As always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. I kind of need it, actually. I don't get enough of it for this story, to be perfectly honest. **

**Note: In the Star Wars universe, a week is five days, not seven. Keep that in mind just in case. **

**Enjoy the chapter. **

Chapter 12

When the group arrived about an hour later, Salni was waiting for them. He was flanked on either side by bodyguards armed with makeshift rifles. If negotiations failed, they would be ready for a shootout.

"Give me your weapons." Lija demanded. "You won't need them so long as the Cleansing stays away."

"First, prove to us that Charniere is unarmed." Salni replied.

Using the force, Lija pulled into her hand a blaster pistol that was holstered to Cedric's hip. "This is the only weapon he has with him."

Grudgingly, Salni's bodyguards handed over their rifles. Salni handed over both of his blaster pistols, which were strapped to his thighs, and a pickaxe that was strapped to his back. He also took off the stolen Black Corps wristbands he was wearing, as they were heavily studded with nasty spikes.

He turned his attention to Cedric. "I assume now is the time to commence negotiations."

"Indeed." The Twi'Lek replied. "I am willing to join forces with you on the condition that you promise to leave my race alone. Let us live where we choose, and stop senselessly killing us off."

"I have another idea." Salni replied. "Help us and when this is over, you all can relocate to that deserted village a few miles east of here. Trust me, it'll be a lot better living there than in the slums."

Cedric scoffed. "This is what you would repay us with for our assistance? Deporting us from our homes into a place of squalor?"

"The slums are a bigger place of squalor. And at least your people will have space there. You'd have it all to yourself. None of my thugs would bother you there.

"We, on the other hand, would still struggle to pay for our homes in the city. We'd also still have to beg for and steal food, medical supplies…"

"And why exactly should I trust that you're telling the truth?"

"What reason do you have for your entitled attitude?"

"Us? Entitled? All we want is to be allowed to live here without having to deal with bigots like you who seemingly live to persecute us! If we could go back to our ancestral homeland of Ryloth, we would. But out clans will never allow us to do so."

"Then why didn't you move somewhere closer to Ryloth instead of settling in these already crowded slums?"

"What did we even do to provoke the first attacks? We just wanted a place to settle down, and you greeted us with bloodshed and prejudice!"

"We had an array of problems already! We had to worry about holding down our homes, putting food in people's stomachs, obtaining the money needed for sufficient medical care…You worthless immigrants made things even worse for us by overcrowding these slums!"

Cedric pounced, tackling Salni to the ground. He grabbed heavy rock that was lying on the ground and raised it above his head. "You bastards blame everything my people!" He roared. "Now let them me for your demise!"

"Enough!" Lache bellowed, firing one of the confiscated rifles into the air. Both gang bosses stared at him blankly. "No one is killing anybody! Not when there's an army of ruthless fanatics just itching to kill you and your people! Now for a moment, I thought you two were good leaders who would put aside your vendetta for the greater good! But I was wrong. You two are too petty to even have a civil discussion with each other, much less fight the Cleansing side by side!"

Lache glared at them as they got back on their feet and stared each other down. They were too stubborn to admit the soldier was right. The look in their eyes screamed resentment at the prospect of an alliance.

"I guess that will conclude our negotiations." Cedric said curtly.

"I couldn't agree more." Salni replied.

He turned his back on the others and commanded his bodyguards to follow him. They boarded their snowskimmer and sped away from the obelisk. They did not even take back their weapons.

"Well," Cedric began after a long pause. "I tried. I guess there won't be a truce after all."

**End scene**

"What are General Pitki's plans?" General Valunnen demanded, circling Kaen like a predator sizing up its prey.

The Zabrak Jedi was chained to a column in the very back of the prison Siikkaasaa. He had not eaten a morsel of food in days, and he had been given very little water to drink in captivity. He was also wearing a metallic collar around his neck that was designed to shock him whenever he tried to tap into the force. In short, he was in no position to bail himself out.

"I do not know what you're talking about."

The General thanked him for his answer by punching him in the face. The force of the punch was magnified by the studded gauntlet he was wearing. Kaen's nose broke, but he barely grunted. It was almost as if he felt nothing.

He looked up at his torturer through a screen of long, wild black hair. "If you're going to torture a prisoner, never start with the head. The victim's mind will get all fuzzy and he won't feel the next…"

General Valunnen punched him again, this time in the throat. Kaen stood stiff like a statue, as if waiting for a surge of pain to wash over him. It never did.

"What did I tell you?" He asked, smirking defiantly.

"Does General Pitki have any plans to attack us? What are the positions of his troops? How many are in the mountains?"

"I cannot answer any of those questions."

General Valunnen grabbed Kaen's head and shoved it against the pillar. "How about now?!"

"Nothing comes to mind."

With a curse, the General turned to the table beside him and selected a diabolically sharp blade from the tools arranged on top. "My father was a surgeon." He said. "When I was a little boy, I would sometimes watch as he conducted lobotomies. Maybe if I cut the brain out of that stubborn head of yours, I can extract the information I need."

"Enough!"

Both the torturer and the prisoner turned in the direction of the voice. Orann had arrived in the room, with his aide Jorru at his side. The Cleansing leader looked very irritated.

"General Valunnen, you old fool. You should know by now that Zabraks can withstand intense pain much better than other races. It is nearly impossible to torture them into giving you information."

The General glared at the newcomers with contempt. He had made a point to throw militaristic formality out the airlock whenever his self – appointed superior was around. He loathed the man with a passion, and it brought out the rebellious youth he was when he first entered military school. He thought that youth had been squeezed out of him by intensive drilling and rigorous living conditions long ago. Orann's arrival on the planet proved him wrong.

"Jorru, escort the prisoner back to his cell and give him a proper meal!" Orann commanded.

"Right away, sir."

Jorru activated a laser cutter to burn though the chains that held Kaen to the column. He ignored the chains that bound the captive's hands and feet together and led him out of the room. This left the General alone with Orann. How tempting it would be to just kill him right then, with the diabolical blade in his hand!

"General Valunnen, I have an assignment for you."

"What is your bidding?" _And why did you summon me to Siikkaasaa to tell me? You could have just called me via comlink. _

"A few days back I hired a bounty hunter to capture the Jedi interlopers you failed to kill a week and a half ago. After bringing the fourth one here yesterday, he used a mind trick on me and told me to…I can't remember what, exactly, but he ended up stealing thousands of credits from my vault."

"Why should I care?"

"I'll tell you why you should care!" Orann fumed. "I want you to tell your men to kill him on sight!" He paused. "The man's name is Aleho Laixi. You'll know him when you see him. He's short, has long red hair, loves wine, and is in his early to mid – thirties. And one more thing; he also carries lightsabers and can use the force. I am just about certain that at one time, he was part of the order."

"Why should I kill him? After all, if you want something done right, you ought to do it on your own terms."

"I know you and the late High Priest have conspired against me. If you do not follow my orders, I will report that information to my cousin and his men. Commander E'Sealin is extremely loyal to me, as I am part of his family, and he will kill anybody who crosses me, with or without orders.

General Valunnen thought for a moment. He did not want to be killed by that incompetent "Commander" in a petty power squabble. He had more important things that needed his attention. He needed to focus on the jihad. Besides, maybe if he just did what was demanded of him, Orann would stay off his case and let him die the death of a martyr that he wanted. On the other hand, he was fed up with Orann and wanted nothing more than for him to die.

"I will return to camp and give my men the message." He said, crossing his fingers behind his back.

"Yes you will. Now be gone." As the General left the room, Orann smirked arrogantly. "Not only is he a delusional old fool, but he is also a coward. He should know by now that I don't execute my subordinates until their usefulness to me has expired. And I still have one more important task for him once Laixi is out of the picture."


End file.
